Stolen Night Lexana Series
by Firefly01
Summary: Sequel to Perpetual Night. When the Luthor family is attacked, they must struggle to keep themselves together.
1. Evil Comes To Call

**Chapter One- Evil Comes To Call**

Thick fog rolled into Smallville and hovered over the ground like a blanket. It's sticky and unwelcomed fingers slithered over every surface, invading the private spaces between buildings and pooling into well trimmed backyards. With the morning sun still an hour away from rising, the overnight lamps cast an eerie orange glow over Main Street, it's light barely breaking through the misty barrier.

Fog is not a silent beast. As it sweeps over the land, it whispers to the rolling grass and shuffling leaves and carries with it the memories of where it has been before. People who get caught in fog feel uneasy because they know they are being watched. They pull their coats tightly around them, and try to ignore it's waspy fingers that grasp at their clothes and brush their faces with wet, sticky kisses.

Occasionally, there are those who do not fear the fog. They walk in purposeful strides and cut through like a knife, their footfalls echoing loudly on the pavement. These people are unafraid because they have their own dark work to do. They cherish the fog because it helps to cover up whatever evil they want to commit.

One such a person is a woman named Jennifer Stevens. She walks briskly to work, her eyes staring straight ahead, her heart thundering in her chest. As she nears the Luthor Estate, she feels excitement welling within her and she wants to laugh like a maniac for what she is about to do. Her body is oblivious to the fog's curiosity, and she doesn't even notice the way it filters through her hair and flows into her body like smoke. She breathes it in and lets it swim through her lungs in deep, measured breaths before blowing it out again carelessly. Jennifer cannot hear the whispers, and does not realize that the fog is traveling with her, completely aware of her scheme.

The castle towers loom in the distance, and she shivers in anticipation. After the many months of planning she was finally about to accomplish her goal. The labor it took to make every piece of the puzzle fit together, the sacrifices she's made of her pride and dignity to be in the perfect position, would in only a few minutes time be worth everything.

She made it through the gate easily and smiled at the guard on duty. He smiled back with a lazy grin, dazzled it seemed by her relatively pretty face and auburn hair. As she walked away, her face turned to stone and she focused again on her task, not giving the ignorant guard another thought. He was beneath her right now, as everyone was.

During the long walk up the drive, Jennifer dreamed about what tomorrow would bring. Certainly she would be in the news and her fame would reach even the furthermost corners of the globe. They would remember her name forever. She skipped up the steps that led to the servants entrance and wiped her feet before going inside.

Very few people were up at this early hour, and they all went about their business quietly, flitting around like little bugs. Jennifer did not worry about these people seeing her, rather she hoped they would, and went out of her way to talk to them.

"Good morning Trina," she trilled at the East Wing head housekeeper. The woman looked over at her with furrowed brows, as if annoyed to be spoken to so early in the morning. "Have a lovely day," Jennifer said sweetly as she walked past. The wake she left behind was like a tidal wave, which disturbed the old woman, though she didn't know why. Trina watched suspiciously as she left the room, and then went back to work not giving it another thought.

Jennifer went up the stairs to the family quarters, and walked down the hall towards the children's rooms. There was a television room, two large playrooms, an empty nursery (baby Julian was still sleeping in his parent's room), one year old Alexander's room, which was also currently empty and then four year old Katherine's room and it was this one that she stopped at.

Taking a deep breath, Jennifer turned the knob and entered the little girl's room. Even with shadows spread out everywhere, you could still see that the room was pink. Lana had painted it herself, adding unicorns and fairies and every other storybook creature she could think of. It was a room fit for a princess.

Jennifer closed the door behind her quietly and looked around. Tiny, white table and chairs sat in the corner, a delicate tea service placed on top. Nearby was a doll shelf that held dozens of the most beautiful, and likely expensive, dolls she had ever seen. She selected two, and placed them in the chairs, adding cups and saucers to their place settings, and napkins in their laps. Satisfied, she smiled and continued her tour.

The closet surprised her, even though it shouldn't have. Hundreds of dresses and outfits were hung neatly side by side. Hats and shoes and drawers full of stockings of bows overflowed. This was one pampered child! It seemed almost sad to take her away from all of this, but it had to be done.

Jennifer finally set her eyes on the little bed where Katherine slept with her younger brother Alexander. They clung to matching brown bears that each had the names "Alex" and "Kate" stitched across their tummies. She knew that there was another bear in the nursery which bore the name "Jack."

Three privileged children, and they were all worthy targets. She easily could have taken Jack if he were sleeping in his bassinet, but he was still a baby and would have been too much trouble. Alex too was still a mite young as well, and that left Kate, the shining jewel of them all. Jennifer reached out and touched her light brown wavy hair and smoothed it away from her face like a mother would. Like she would from now on.

Katherine opened her eyes and looked around sleepily, focusing on the intruder in her room.

"Shhh," Jennifer said, holding a finger to her lips. She held her arms out, and Kate allowed herself to be picked up. The poor girl was still sleepy, and laid her head against her nanny's chest, closing her heavy eyes in exhaustion. Jennifer held her for a moment, breathing in her smell and rocking her lightly in her arms. She turned to where she knew the camera would see her, and smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling wickedly.

And then, drawing on the electricity in the room, Jennifer concentrated the energy around her, pinpointed her trajectory and disappeared, leaving the slight smell of sulphur in the air. Alexander rolled over in his sleep and reached out for his sister like he always did, but all he could find was the "Kate" bear.

* * *

Graciela Ortega had a great many responsibilities in the Luthor household, chief of which was to take care of Lana. She was not a nanny or a housekeeper, though she had no problem advising others on how to do both. She'd been trained by the best and knew exactly how a house like the Luthor Mansion needed to be run.

Graciela suddenly found herself in need of work when her former employer, Penelope Van Buren had a stroke and could no longer speak. Her son (cheap bastard that he was) was sending her away to a retirement home, and Graciela's services would no longer be needed. Penelope still had the use of her left hand though, and with one clumsily handwritten note, secured Graciela's future by giving her to Lana Luthor.

She was not an indentured servant, far from it. In fact she had accumulated more money than most ordinary women in Metropolis, and as such was highly respected. But when she took work, she was fiercely loyal to her employer, and since she was nearing middle age already, she knew she would be working for Mrs. Luthor until she retired.

The week after Lana returned home from her honeymoon, she'd been swarmed with tasks that needed completion. The most important of those were the Thank You notes.

"Do I have to write them all out by hand?" Lana had asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, Mrs Luthor. It's important to your station now that you show that you like and care about all of these people, even if you don't."

"But there are hundreds. . ."

"There are 327," Graciela pointed out. Lana's face fell and she felt a little sorry for her. "A man's reputation is based on his work, his wife and his children," she told her. "Mr. Luthor's work is good, his wife is a girl, and his child is still cooking, so you see where this situation can improve?"

Lana nodded and laid a protective hand over her still flat belly. That one was going to take a while.

Graciela handed Lana a stack of stationary, a few pens and opened the first envelope. "Mr. and Mrs. David Hill," she said, nodding towards the paper, and Lana started writing. After every fifty they took a break where Graciela would massage the feeling back into Lana's hand and arm. By the time they finished, Lana's entire arm was on ice, and her hand was purple from broken capillaries. She couldn't help but be proud of the girl, and since that day has been completely devoted to her.

On this morning, she was nervous. Of all the strange occurrences that happened on the estate grounds, this was the worst and most damaging to the family. Though she'd heard it happened often before Mr. and Mrs. Luthor were married, there hadn't been a single kidnapping since. In any other family, that might have sounded silly, but in this one it was an accomplishment.

Alexander had awakened first, and cried when he'd discovered his sister missing. She never stayed away from him for too long, certainly not in the morning. Shouts rang through the castle as people called for Katherine. Lana herself, still dressed in her robe and slippers followed her younger sister Lindsay to all of Kate's favorite hiding places.

Lindsay was a pretty girl of 11 who, when her father Henry Small died of a heart attack two years prior had moved into the Luthor Mansion with her sister's family. She was petite, like Lana, and had long brown hair and hazel eyes. You couldn't mistake their relation to each other.

Over the course of her stay, Lindsay became very close to her new family and was eager to be accepted. Though she had yet to break through to Lionel, tough old buzzard that he was, she'd weaseled her way into Lex's heart fairly easily. He would do anything for her, except for fix Barbie Dolls, because you had to draw a line somewhere. Lindsay was also especially close to Katherine, who idolized her.

"She gets in this cabinet sometimes," Lindsay told them. They were in the West Gallery, which basically was a very long hallway whose walls were covered in art. Hidden throughout were small cabinets that lined the walkway, where in centuries past valuables had been hidden.

Katherine's favorite cabinet was close to the end of the hall. Several vases and old oil portraits lived in there that Kate would hide behind. Lana pulled everything out, breaking one of the vases in the process. Nothing. She sighed in frustration.

"Where else Lindsay?" she asked. They had already been searching for over an hour. The young girl, clearly out of ideas merely shrugged her shoulders. Sensing Lana was about to explode at her, Graciela took her by the arm and lead her away.

"Let's go find Mr. Luthor," she soothed. "He may have located Kate already." The trio walked downstairs to Lex's office. Dozens of security agents littered the room, with Lex in the center barking orders at them. He obviously hadn't found her yet. Lana walked up to him with fear in her eyes and he put an arm around her. She was beginning to look very frightened.

"Sir," said yet another black suited man. He walked over to Lex with a stack of papers, his ear piece buzzing loudly at his neck. "All of the staff are accounted for except for one person."

"Who?" Lex demanded.

"Jennifer Stevens," he answered. "She signed in at the gate this morning a little after five, and never signed out. We have been unable to locate her, and there is no answer on her cell phone."

"Oh my God," Lana gasped, and Graciela's heart sank. Jennifer was baby Jack's new nanny, and had only been working for the family for two months.

"Check the cameras, maybe she's still here," Lex commanded. When they found nothing again, they began to play back the tapes. Everyone watched in silence as Jennifer checked in at the gate. She'd smiled at the guard, letting her gaze linger for a moment directly at the camera.

They watched her make her way through the house, chatting with other staff and smiling as if nothing were amiss. When she tip toed into Katherine's bedroom, Graciela felt her blood pressure begin to rise. Lana began to cry silently, gripping Lex for support.

Jennifer had seemed nice enough. She certainly didn't raise any red flags in her behavior. If anything, maybe she seemed too nice, and it pissed Graciela off that she had been so blind. They way she pranced through Kate's room, touching her things and rearranging her dolls just added insult to injury.

And then it came. Jennifer reached out for Kate who came easily into her arms like a trusting child would. The bitch turned directly to the camera that was watching her and smiled, as if to say, _look here what I've done! You silly people couldn't stop me!_ Fury filled the eyes of the father, and Graciela knew what awaited Jennifer when she got caught.

She would be. . .

Katherine disappeared and everyone gasped. Chaos ensued. "Play that back!" Lex shouted. They did, and sure enough it wasn't a trick of the eye. Jennifer and Katherine really disappeared.

"Where did they go?" wailed Lana.

Where indeed?


	2. Wrestling With Grief

**Chapter Two: Wrestling With Grief**

"Everybody get out," Lana suddenly said. She pulled her robe closer around her body and hugged herself tightly. The security personnel were uncertain, and sort of looked around helplessly at each other, unsure of what to do. "I said get out!" she repeated loudly.

"You heard her, move your asses," Graciela told them, herding them away. She shuffled them all out, and then closed the door behind herself leaving Lex and Lana alone. Lana picked up the remote and rewound the video, watching the last 30 seconds again, and paused it on Jennifer's smiling face.

"Lex," she said, finally finding her voice. "That woman has our baby."

He walked over and put his arms around her, trying to stay calm. "Lana, don't worry," he started. The fury inside of him was like a ball of fire that he was barely able to keep control of. He tried to think of something reassuring to say, but when she turned to look at him, he stopped. The coldness in her eyes was something he hadn't expected.

"Why would she do this?" she asked.

"I don't know Lana, but. . ."

"She's a meteor freak isn't she?"

He sighed, knowing where this was going. "It looks that way."

Lana nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his. "Have you seen her before?" Her voice began to take on a harder edge.

"No," he answered. "Lana, I know what you're thinking. . ."

"Because you know it occurred to me, that if you have met her before in some capacity, it would actually make sense for her to come here and take our baby."

"You think she was an inmate?"

"Was she?"

"I already told you that I've never seen her before," he answered with a raised voice. "And besides, why would I let you hire a woman that I knew was dangerous? I would never let someone like that around my children."

Lana shut her eyes and seemed to digest that. "How did we miss this?" she asked in a small voice.

"I don't know," he said gently. The fury in his belly subsided for a moment, allowing his brain to think more logically. They purposely avoided hiring anyone who had ties to Smallville and might be meteor infected, so how did Jennifer slip through? She was born and raised in Grandville, and her record seemed clean. Maybe too clean? He would have to check on that. For now . . .

"Why don't you get some rest, and let me take care of this," he said, hoping that she would actually go. She hated to be patronized, but surprisingly she agreed and walked towards the door.

"Lex," she said, turning back to him.

"Yeah?"

"Find my baby."

It was an order, not a request.

* * *

As it turned out, Lana actually was tired. She felt completely drained, and unable to function properly so she did exactly as Lex suggested. Sleep was not an easy bedfellow though, so she mostly rested briefly in between bouts of crying. Graciela was there, as always, to take care of her and fielded the many phone calls that Lana was getting from good hearted idiots who gave their condolences. She wasn't in the least bit interested in that.

"Mrs. Luthor will be pleased that you called," Graciela said into the phone while rolling her eyes. She meticulously took down names and messages, so that Lana would know later who gave a shit and who didn't even bother. Politics was important in this world, even during grief.

Lana never bothered to get dressed. She knew it probably looked bad that she was so incapacitated, but she didn't care. Nobody else had to be in her shoes did they? Every so often she could hear Julian or Alexander crying, but she couldn't worry about them right now. As the hours passed by, all she could think about was Kate.

Rebecca Faulk arrived at the mansion at a quarter after ten a.m. She immediately ran to Lana, crawling into the bed and hugging her tightly. There was nothing to be said, so they simply stayed like that and cried together.

The two women had been friends for several years and were so involved in each other's lives that they had even been present during the births of some of their children. They met in an unusual way.

When Lana was four months pregnant with Katherine, she attended the opening of a new exhibit at the Metropolis Museum. It was something she felt very proud of since she had been involved with the work. After about an hour, she began to feel tired and drifted away from the larger crowds, walking slowly through the exhibit and holding a glass of champagne that she wasn't going to drink. A pretty blond woman walked up to her, and Lana smiled in greeting.

"Have you slept with my husband?" the woman asked seriously, taking Lana back a bit.

"What?" she asked.

"Sex. Have you and my husband had sex?" the woman clarified. Lana opened her mouth and then closed it, not sure of what to say.

"I don't know who your husband is," she finally replied.

"Stephen Faulk."

The name didn't ring any bells. "Then no," Lana answered, and the woman suddenly brightened, giving her a smile.

"Oh good. Then we can be friends. My name is Rebecca, but you can call me Becky," she said, extending her hand. Lana took it, still reeling from shock. They stood together in awkward silence for a moment, before Rebecca turned to her again. "Oh, me either," she offered, pointing at Lana's ring set.

Lana gave her a tense smile and then laughed a little. "Good to know," she said.

"Yeah." Rebecca looked out to the crowd again. "You know, it's nice to get that out of the way. It's so annoying to make conversation with a woman only to find out later that they screwed your husband in the back of a limo once."

"I'm sure that's true."

"Well, you know how these people are," she continued, wagging her finger around at the people. "It's nothing but a great big orgy. That's why they never marry each other you know. They almost always marry outsiders so that they don't have to deal with past lovers everyday."

Lana looked around at all of the women's faces, and she suddenly wondered how many Lex had slept with. She didn't think she wanted to know. Noticing her look of concern, Rebecca patted her arm and smiled. "Oh don't even try to think about it. It'll do nothing but give you a headache. All of these women are insanely jealous of you anyway. You married him didn't you?"

She thought about that for a minute. "Do you know Lex well?" she asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "Not really. He and Stephen once negotiated shipping contracts, and he came over to the house to sign papers. We didn't even talk. Other than that, we've been at the same functions for the past two years or so. It's all the same people every time really." She sighed and then grabbed Lana's hand. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

And their friendship started like that. Rebecca was a sweet girl, if not at least a little neurotic. She'd been a sheltered debutante when she caught the eye of Stephen Faulk, and got married when she was barely 18. They had two sons, Nicholas and Gavin. Lana had a lot in common with Rebecca, and though she had other less important friends, she came to rely on Becky the most.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," she said, smoothing Lana's hair away from her face. "I had to take care of the boys."

Lana shook her head. "No, I know. You have to take care of them first." She wiped her eyes and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand. "Where are they now?" she asked.

"My mother is with them."

"Good. That's good."

* * *

Lionel checked his watch as he rushed down the hallway to Lex's office. It was half past two. He passed several police and task force operatives on the way, who nodded at him but he didn't return the gesture. He'd been in Canada when the call came in about Katherine's abduction, and he hurried to get home as soon as possible.

On the way, he tried not to think about Kate but couldn't help himself. Being a grandfather was quite a different thing than being father to a child. You didn't have the same stress and expectations, and it was easier to just look at your grandchild and see them for who they were, rather than for who you wanted them to be.

Katherine was exceptionally bright. She began walking and talking before her first birthday, and was reading by the time she was three. Every afternoon at 2 o'clock she came to see him, dragging a book along so he could read it to her. It took forever to get her off of "Alexander and the No Good Very Bad Day." From some children's television program, she got the nickname Pop, and decided to call him that rather than Grandfather. Well, it was better than Gramps.

One afternoon when she was late to her reading session, he decided to go and find her. Knowing that she played in the Gallery a lot, he went there and sure enough that's where she was. Just before he announced his presence, he realized what she was doing, and just watched for a moment.

Kate would squat down nearly to the floor, and then jump as far as she could. She huffed and grunted, and every so often uttered a "wow" for jumping so far. He couldn't help but laugh as he walked up behind her. "What are you doing Katherine?" he asked. She didn't bother to stop, and in between jumps said, "I'm hopping."

"And why are you hopping?" he asked her with a smile on his face. Her answer was so matter of fact that he laughed again out loud. "Because I like to hop." Lionel followed her as she jumped all the way down the Gallery, and it occurred to him sadly that Lillian would have loved to have had a granddaughter.

But now they both were gone.

Lionel walked into Lex's office just as he was speaking to the assembly of officers and agents.

"I'm offering ten million dollars for any tip that leads to the capture of Jennifer Stevens and the safe return of Katherine. I want every lead followed, I don't care how many people, or how many man-hours it takes." Aides ran off to work the phones and get the news out to the press while the rest of the people dispersed with their own work to get to.

"Lex," Lionel said as he walked over. "I came as soon as I heard." He hugged his son, who returned his affection stiffly, as he always did. "Has there been a ransom demand?" he asked.

Lex turned away from him to pick up Jennifer's file. "There's been nothing. No phone call from her at all."

"Her? The kidnapper is a woman?" Lex handed him the file, and picked up the remote to show him the video. Lionel's eyes went wide as he watched the nanny disappear with his granddaughter. He stuttered stupidly over his words before finally saying, "We have to call the State Department, there are certain sectors that can deal with a case like this."

"They've been called Dad," Lex told him, sounding a little tired. "I have people looking into it, trying to find out more about Miss Stevens. The F.B.I. are set up here just in case she calls to ask for a ransom, and I know how you feel about that, but . . ."

"Well, you'll pay," Lionel said, interrupting him. Lex looked at him with a shocked expression on his face. "You'll pay to get Katherine back, of course. Whatever it takes." Just the thought of something happening to her out there was too horrible to comprehend. She was barely four years old.

"Whatever it takes," Lionel repeated.

**

* * *

**

By the time dusk settled in, Lex began to feel real panic. He'd been sure that by now Kate would be home already, but there was still no word. He sat down at his desk for the first time that day and closed his eyes. So far, he'd managed to treat this as a problem that needed to be solved, but her face starting creeping into his mind.

His eyes moved to an empty spot on his desk and he jumped up. A framed picture of an orange-spotted lizard was missing, and he had to find out who took it.

The story behind the picture was one of his favorites. It had been on his desk one day when he came home the year before, and before he had a chance to ask about it, Lana walked in laughing.

"You won't believe what your daughter did today," she'd said. "She drew a picture this morning right after you left of a blue dog and put it on your desk. A few hours later, she comes in and the picture is missing."

"Uh oh," Lex said with a grin.

"Yeah, Kate was not amused," Lana continued. "She asked Linda, 'Where did my picture go?' and of course Linda didn't have a good answer for her, so then she goes to find Graciela. 'Where is my picture?' she asks again. Still no answer, so she says, 'Well, I'm going to have to have a talk with my Daddy when he comes home about people touching his things.'"

"Did she actually say that?" Lex asked, laughing.

Lana nodded. "So then, the whole house goes crazy, and I don't know where they dragged it up from, but two hours later she finally gets it back. But get this, she decided, a blue dog isn't good enough for your desk after all. I mean, a blue dog, what's that? So She did an orange lizard with yellow polka dots, and that's what you have now."

"Well I guess it better stay where it's at then."

"I guess it better."

After asking around for it, Lex was told that Lindsay had it and he went to go find her. He liked Lindsay, she was his wife's little sister, but this was not the day to go fucking with his things. Kate would be home soon, and she would want it to be where it belonged. He found Lindsay in one of the children's playrooms stacking blocks with Alex.

"Did you take Kate's picture from my desk?" he asked her. Both kids were startled and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Um. . ." she said nervously.

"Lindsay did you take it or not?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

"Give it back, and don't touch anything on my desk without permission again." He said this louder than he meant to, and tears filled her eyes as she got up to get it from the coloring table. As she handed it to him, she started crying and Lex felt like an asshole. Since she was doing it, Alex started and they both began sniffling and sobbing. Perfect, Lex thought.

Feeling bad that he let himself lose control in front of them, Lex sat down and scooped Alex into his arms. The baby wrapped his chubby arms around his father's neck and cried into his shoulder. Lindsay had her back to him with her head in her hands. For the first time, he realized how much Katherine's disappearance was affecting them both.

"Lindsay," he called gently, but she didn't acknowledge him. With practiced efficiency, Lex reached out his other arm and pulled her to him, holding her close to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his middle and held onto him tightly. Even now it was a shock that he had a family, and he had to constantly remind himself to be good to them. These are yours, he'd tell himself. Be nice.

Alex had calmed down considerably, and was now sniffling. Lex dropped a kiss to the top of his head, and because he would have done it to Katherine if she had been there, he kissed Lindsay too.


	3. Dark, the Night

**Chapter Three: Dark, the Night**

Shadows deepened in Smallville as night wrapped her dark arms around it, holding the little town tightly to her breast. Stars peeked through and the pale light of the quarter moon lit the ground dimly. A car drove silently up to the heavily guarded castle, it's sole occupant an Eastern-European woman in her mid- twenties. The night was her companion and had been for several years, her darkness expressed in open sexuality. It was the only way she could hide the pain she felt inside.

Nadia Thornton stepped out of her car and took a deep breath. A missing child hit a little too close to home for her, and she wasn't sure how much help she would actually be to Lana, one of her only two friends.

Walking up the the mansion was a daunting task. In the past few years, Nadia had lost count of the number of men that she slept with. Sometimes she even forgot their names, but there were two men that she was certain about and both of those carried the name Luthor. Surprisingly, she and Lana had made peace with that fact, mostly due to Nadia's rule that she never slept with the same man twice. So far, she hadn't broken it.

"Ms. Thornton," the doorman said as he took her coat. She stepped through the reception area and headed for the stairs. Nadia was a tough woman, hardened by years of sadness ever since her husband and only child died in a plane crash. She vowed to never fall in love again and began having meaningless sex with society men. To her mind, it didn't make her cheap, it kept her sane.

She was not a humble person, rather she always dressed to the nines and behaved like royalty. She didn't take any one's shit and wasn't one to mince words. Lana liked her for that.

As she climbed the stairs of the Luthor Mansion, she felt the sorrow of the place weigh down on her. It was cold and quiet like a tomb, giving her chills. Before Lex married Lana, it was like this, but since then, and especially since Katherine had been born the place was different. Warm, inviting. The change was like a cold slap in the face.

Rather than turn into the living quarters, Nadia went South instead, passing several police officers and F.B.I. agents on the way who were camped out in the upstairs Ballroom. It was obviously their command center, and she was surprised not to see Lex in the middle of it all. His child was missing, and he wasn't there organizing her recovery? That was odd.

His office doors were closed, but she pushed them open without knocking. She half expected to find Lana there with him, but he was alone, sitting at his desk.

"Come on in," he said dryly when he looked up and recognized her. Pathetic was the only word that came to mind as she looked him over. His face was lined, suit rumpled and a general heaviness slumped his shoulders.

"I came here to see Lana," she told him. "Becky is going home, so I'm taking the night shift." He just nodded and waved her away. "That's it?" she asked.

"Should there be more?" he responded wearily, and she felt suddenly angry with him. His daughter was out there somewhere. She could be alive! She could be saved! And he's what? Brooding? Fuck that!

"Why are you acting like such a pussy?" she demanded. He looked up at her in shock. "Yeah I said it," she continued. "Your daughter has been kidnapped, and you're telling me that the best you can do is sit here and hope that some dumbfuck with a shiny badge might actually be able to find her? Get off your ass Lex! I know that you are more capable than this."

He glared, and she actually worried that he might hit her. "And what do you suggest I do?" he asked through tight lips.

"Oh just bend over and take it in the ass then. If you don't know what you should be doing, then maybe you are just a pussy." She turned on her heel and walked out of the room. With her heart pounding, she headed back towards Lana's bedroom.

On her way there, she passed by Lionel who was sitting in a darkened parlour with his head in his hands. "Oh for fuck's sake!" she swore loudly. Lionel's head snapped up and he smiled politely when he saw her.

"Nadia," he greeted. "Discreet as ever."

"Well, I'm sorry. Should I be pleased to see the Luthor men behaving as though their cock and balls were missing?"

Snap. Lionel's demeanor changed immediately, and he seemed both angry and intrigued by her assessment. "I'm sorry you're so disappointed," he said in a controlled voice.

"Well, yeah I am. Eunuch isn't exactly the first word that usually comes to mind when I see you, but I gotta say, I'm getting that vibe now." She smiled with the victory of the insult, but inside knew it was a bad play. He grinned at her, and she suddenly felt foolish.

"No, I suppose that isn't what you would think." Lionel stood and poured them both a drink. She walked over on nervous knees to accept the liquid, drinking it down quickly. She wasn't one to savor anything anymore.

He smiled at her, not surprised by her action, and sipped his own brandy like the old pro that he was. "Would you like another?" he asked.

"I don't do seconds," she answered, looking him in the eye.

"Don't you?"

"Never."

He grinned again, and she knew that she needed to leave. Walk away quickly. Go to see her poor grieving friend, and give her false hope that everything would be okay.

She didn't do that though, and kissing Lionel surprised her more than it did him. Bending over a table so he could fuck her from behind was an even bigger surprise.

Half an hour later, Nadia finally made it in to see Lana. She exchanged cheeky pleasantries with Rebecca, who went home for the night shortly after. Seeing that Nadia was obviously distressed about something, Lana asked her what was wrong.

"I'm just a little freaked out," she answered nervously. She paced around the room in wild circles, and fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"What for," Lana asked.

"Ha, I had sex with Lionel just now."

"Oh," Lana said quickly.

"Again," Nadia added.

"I see. Sit down."

She sat down next to Lana as instructed, but continued to fidget with her skirt. "He was just so mopey, I couldn't stand it," Nadia said in a rush. "So I antagonized him for a while, and then I . . ."

Lana nodded with wide eyes. "Okay. Are you all right?"

"Oh yeah, he's a good lay," she said shrugging. "But I broke my rule Lana. Dammit, I shouldn't have done that. Do you know how many times I've turned down horny fuckers only to just give in this time with no contest? God, I am a slut aren't I?"

"Are you really just going to hand me that?" Lana asked with a raised eyebrow. They laughed, and then they cried.

* * *

"So you're telling me that there's nothing," Lex said to a very frightened security agent. It was not a good time to be a messenger. "With all of the intelligence agencies there are out there, no one knows anything more about Jennifer Stevens than what I have here in this folder?" He slammed his hand down on top of the file on his desk, and the agent paled visibly.

"Sir, they confirmed every detail . . ."

"Well then somebody is obviously lying, because she IS connected to Smallville somehow, and I want you to find out who the liar is."

"And then sir?" he asked in a trembling voice.

Lex stepped towards the agent, his steely eyes looking straight into his soul. "Then you bring him here to me," Lex answered in a cold voice. The agent nodded and fled the room.

Lex found himself feeling more and more angry that there had been no word at all from Kate's kidnapper, and no valuable intel with which to find her. There was always something to be found, and this lack of any breadcrumbs was highly suspicious. The harsh words from Nadia rang true, and Lex became tired of waiting for help.

All the way to 33.1, Lex was second guessing his decision. He had a family now, and couldn't afford to be reckless. At the same time though, part of his family had been taken from him, and if it took drastic measures to get her back, then so be it. He pushed the Porsche hard to reach the facility as soon as possible.

"Mr. Luthor!" squeaked the guard at the gate in surprise. He scanned an I.D. chip stored in Lex's wrist and then opened the gate for him. Such drastic measures had to be taken to protect the lab from intruders.

The corridors were dark tonight, every night, as if a veil were covering the place and Lex supposed there was. He knew there was a fine line between genius and madness, though he never let himself consider whether or not he'd crossed it. He walked down to where a guard stood in front of the cell containing inmate number 751.

"Open 7-5-1," the guard said to the night vision camera watching them. He stood waiting with his cattle prod as the door swung open, revealing a powerfully built man sitting down on the floor.

"Stand up 7-5-1!" the guard commanded, and the inmate did as he was told slowly. It wasn't often that he was awakened in the middle of the night to meet with Lex Luthor.

Lex walked forward, with the guard close by his side and appraised the man. He had been prepared for the visit, and wore appropriate restraints. Inmate number 751 easily stood six and a half feet tall, weighing in at around 225 lbs. Before he'd been imprisoned at 33.1, he'd been a successful bounty hunter, someone that Lex had always known would be useful.

"My daughter has been kidnapped," he told 751. "She has been taken by a woman with meteor powers, and we have not heard a single word from her."

"What does that have to do with me?" asked 751. The guard immediately slammed the cattle prod into his belly, and the man doubled over in pain. As he recovered and stood up again, Lex continued.

"I need you to track this woman down, using your . . . gifts."

"If I do that," said 751 carefully. "What do I get in return? I want to go home to my family."

"If you bring my daughter home safely, and apprehend the woman who took her, I will release you from custody." 751 looked suspicious, and weighed his options carefully. Surely he must know, that there was no other choice here.

"Fine," he finally said. "I'll do it." Lex nodded to the guard, who removed 751's restraints, and scanned the I.D. chip at his wrist. He entered CONDITIONAL RELEASE into the computer, and then stepped back, allowing the large man to exit his cell.

"Follow Gilam here, and he'll provide you with clothes, money and weapons," Lex told him as he passed by. "By the way," he added. "If you decide to run out on me, you won't have a family to go back to."

751 stared into his eyes, and seeing only truth there, nodded and walked away. Lex watched him leave with mild interest. The man had been a bounty hunter by profession, and a murderous stalker by night. No doubt he'd be back up to his old tricks while free, but as long as he brought home Katherine, Lex didn't give a fuck.


	4. Broken People

**Chapter Four: Broken People**

Lindsay Small sat in the middle of her pink ruffled bed with a hairbrush in her lap and waited. Lana always came to tuck her in at night, but Lindsay was beginning to suspect that her sister wouldn't be coming this time. That bothered her, and she knew it was selfish to want things her way at a time like this, but she couldn't help it.

Lindsay never even knew that she had a sister until Lana sought her out at boarding school. She'd been wary at first, but the many presents and attention warmed her up in a hurry. She was used to being ignored, both by her father and her newly remarried mother and new husband, so having someone want to spend time with her was a welcomed change.

Lindsay found her father facedown in the backyard one day during the summer, and even before she rolled him over, she knew he was dead. His hand had that sickly pale look that even if you've never seen it before, you still recognize as death. A heart attack took him and left Lindsay and her older brother Jackson at the mercy of their mother.

It's not that their mother was a bad woman; she just didn't have the best taste in husbands. Her new one, George was a stockbroker who never ever had wrinkles in his suit. He liked his toast well done in the morning, and spent a good portion of the evenings trimming his nose hair and polishing his own shoes. Georgie, as her mother called him (and Lindsay hated that!) couldn't care less about Jackson. He stayed out at all hours of the night, running with the wrong crowd and was rarely home.

Georgie did though, care a great deal about Lindsay. He watched her when he thought she wasn't looking, and more than once he let his hugs linger a few seconds too long. While she was taking a bath or showering, he almost always knocked on the door, and had walked in on her twice. So Lindsay began spending as much of her time with Lana as she could and avoided going home. She spent the night often, sometimes for days at a time.

One night while she was sleeping, Lindsay was surprised to hear her bedroom door open. Thinking it was her brother Jackson coming to tell her something, she rolled over to ask him what he wanted. Instead, it was George, the darkness covering his face like a mask. "What do you want?" she whispered at him. He said nothing at first, and crept closer to her bed. He ended up only sitting beside her, talking and rubbing her knees, but she was scared. So scared that the very next morning she fled to the mansion without saying goodbye to her mother and brother.

When her parents called to try and get her to go home, she cried and begged Lana not to make her leave. When asked why, she wouldn't say because she felt too embarrassed. Eventually the scene escalated, and Lex came to talk to her.

"Lindsay, I need to know why you don't want to go home," he said in a soothing voice. She just shook her head and kept crying, wishing she didn't have to say. She'd already played twenty questions with Lana. During their conversation, she'd set her hand down on Lindsay's knee, which jerked away as if she'd been burned. Looking alarmed, Lana immediately left the room and a few minutes later, Lex came in. He sat at a distance, and kept his hands to himself.

"Lindsay, if someone is hurting you, I need you to tell me so I can make it stop," he said. Her eyes focused on the pristine white carpet of her bedroom. "If you don't tell me, I will have to send you home," he continued, and Lindsay finally looked up at him. She definitely didn't want that. "How about I ask questions, and you just nod for me if the answer is yes," he asked. She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded.

"Has someone hurt you?"

That one was a little confusing, but since the answer was technically no, she shook her head.

"Do you think someone might?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Is someone making you feel bad?"

Nod.

"Is it George?"

Nod.

"Has he touched you?"

Pause. Nod.

"Are you afraid that if you go home he'll do it again?"

Nod.

"Do you want to stay with us from now on?"

Frantic nodding.

"And live with us instead of at your mother's house?"

Lindsay kept nodding her head and when the tears came again, he carefully reached out to hug her. She let him, and the very next day he had all of her things brought from her house. Her mother was predictably upset, but she put up no argument, making Lindsay wonder what Lex had done or said to them to get his way.

Ever since then, Lindsay had been a part of the Luthor household. It was a strange place to be, and yet that strangeness is what made it oddly comforting. No one pretended to be perfect, rather this was a family of broken people- jagged pieces put together to make an imperfect whole.

Barely two months after giving birth to her second baby, Alexander, Lana had fallen pregnant again. Lex seemed happy at the prospect of having another son, but understandably Lana was less than pleased.

"I'm sick of being fat!" she complained through tears. She wasn't fat, but Lindsay still understood her problem. She was sick of being pregnant. Julian was no picnic either. Lana suffered while pregnant with him, more than she had the other two. She was bedridden for the last three months, and by that time the baby was kicking so hard that it left bruises on the outside of her body.

"Oh my God!" Rebecca had screamed. "Stop beating up your mother, you little shit!"

Three weeks before his due date a massive snowstorm hit Kansas, knocking out power and blocking roads to travel. Of course this was when Julian decided that he wanted to come out. Lana was very upset, and because of that Lex was very upset, which upset Lionel etc. etc. It was a stressful adventure that lasted two whole days. Where Kate and Alex had been born in fourteen and eight hours respectively, Julian took 41.

To pass the time in the beginning, Lindsay helped Graciela and Lana pick a name for the baby. "What was the name of the baby in 'Rosemary's Baby?'" Lana asked.

"Adrian," Graciela informed her.

Lana thought about that for a second, and then waved it away. "Well, I still think Lucifer is still too obvious. We don't want everyone to know that this is the antichrist."

"At least it starts with an L," Lindsay piped up. Lana looked over at her and gave a pained smile.

"What about the Omen?" she asked.

"Damien," Graciela answered as she fluffed Lana's pillows.

Lindsay wrinkled her nose at that one. "Damien Luthor sounds stupid."

"And still too obvious," Lana sighed.

Graciela gave a quick smile. "Well, you could always name the boy Lionel."

That sent all three of them into a riot of laughter that ended abruptly when a powerful contraction hit Lana. Once it subsided she relaxed into the bed with her eyes shut. "I need ice," she said quietly.

"I could always bring in a wheelbarrow and haul your ass outside," Graciela quipped, as she walked out the door. Lana chuckled weakly and looked over at Lindsay. The guest room they were in was dark with only the orange glow from the fireplaces throwing its light across the room. Lindsay was cold, but Lana had the covers completely thrown off, exposing her bare feet and frail but swollen body clad in a thin blue dressing gown.

She reached her arms out and Lindsay went into them, careful to avoid pressing on her belly. "This must be weird for you," Lana said as she smoothed Lindsay's hair back.

"I'm scared a little," she confessed.

"Oh, you don't need to be," Lana said smiling. "I'm an old pro at this by now." They stayed silent for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of the fire crackle and spit.

When Julian finally came, Lindsay was there to see it. It was grosser than she expected, but nicer too. She felt closer to her sister than she had ever felt before. Graciela delivered the baby who screamed his way into the world and went straight to his mother's breast.

"This one isn't a spare," Graciela commented.

"No, he isn't," Lana said thoughtfully as she gazed at him. Already he was feistier than his slightly older brother. Lana looked up at Lex, who sat beside her. "What's his name Daddy?" she asked.

Lex reached out and brushed the baby's cheek with the back of his index finger. "Julian," he finally answered.

As the days passed, Lana was desperate for a nickname, considering the stigma surrounding the former Julian Luthor. They tried many things, but Lindsay was the one to make something stick. "He looks like my brother," she'd said, and that's all it took. From then on, Julian was known as Jack, and that suited everyone just fine.

A month after he was born, Lindsay found Lana on the floor of her dressing room one afternoon. She'd been about to ask if she could go riding, but froze once she saw her lying there. Flashbacks of finding her father dead kept her rooted to the spot.

"Oh my God!" shouted Graciela as she walked in behind her. "Go get Mr. Luthor," she told her, but still Lindsay couldn't move. She watched as Graciela rolled Lana over onto her back, exposing her beautiful face, frozen in a sort of death mask. Graciela turned back to Lindsay with a mixture of fear and fury on her face. "GO!" she screamed, and the girl found her feet. She ran all the way downstairs to Lex's office, and then all the way back after him.

It turned out that having the babies so close together like that was simply too much on Lana's little body, and she suffered from a severe case of anemia and malnutrition. Lindsay stayed by her side in the hospital for two weeks and willed her to get better. She did and now two and a half months later, they were dealing with this crisis. Things just never stopped happening in this house.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and she waited expectantly as the door opened. "Hey kid, you okay?" It was Nadia.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. She liked Nadia; could tell in her eyes that she understood suffering. Nadia didn't talk down to her either, and she appreciated that. When she'd asked where babies came from, Nadia told her. She was thankful even if she did have nightmares for a week.

Nadia strode across the room and sat down on the bed. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Waiting on Lana."

"I don't think your sister is going to come and tuck you in tonight," she said. "She's not feeling well."

"Because of Kate?"

"Yeah."

"Want me?" Nadia asked, pointing to the brush in Lindsay's lap. She handed it to her, and turned around letting Nadia brush her long blond hair.

"Do you think Kate's still alive?" Lindsay asked. She felt Nadia stiffen behind her, and wondered if she shouldn't have asked.

"I don't know," she answered finally, pulling the brush from the crown of Lindsay's head all the way down to the tips of her hair.

"I hope she is."

"Me too."

They sat in silence for a while, both grateful to have the company. In truth, Lindsay did very much hope that Kate was okay because she was worried that if she weren't, her life would somehow change. Now that she finally felt as though she had a real place to call home, she didn't want that to go away.

Little did she know, Nadia felt the same way.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Graciela asked as she headed towards the door. She turned back with kind eyes and waited for Lana's answer.

"No, go ahead and get some sleep. We're fine." She glanced over at her two babies sleeping in her bed and then looked back at Graciela with a tired smile.

"Good night then Mrs. Luthor," the older woman said as she left the room. The door clicked shut, and the silence seemed loud to Lana suddenly. Wanting to scream, but needing to keep quiet, she stepped into the adjoining bathroom and pulled the door most of the way closed behind her. Her reflection in the mirror was hideous. She was sure that at some point in time she must have looked that bad before, but currently her weary mind drew a blank.

"God, you look like shit," she said quietly to herself.

"I wouldn't say that," said Lex, standing in the doorway. Startled, Lana jumped violently and gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound.

Lex put his hands up and walked over to her. "It's just me."

She turned back and leaned against the sink for support. "I didn't hear you come in." She turned on the tap, and cupped her hands under the flow, bringing the cool water to her face. She felt old and run down, and washing her face didn't help half as much as people always said it did.

Lana looked up at Lex through the mirror and saw a reflection similar to hers. It occurred to her for the first time, that he really was several years older than she was. In his eyes though, she saw a spark of something. Mischief?

"Where did you go?" she asked as she dried her hands. The hesitation that followed was noted and filed away. She didn't really care.

"I had some things to look into," he answered cryptically. On any ordinary day, his evasiveness would have bothered her. Today though, what did it really matter?

"Business or pleasure?" she joked humorlessly.

Instead of answering, Lex looked at her with concern in his eyes, and placed a palm to her cheek. "You look tired," he said. "You should get some sleep."

She shook her head and pulled away from him. "I've been in bed all day. Can't sleep." Her red eyes watered again, and she was surprised that she had any tears left. "Can't sleep with Kate out there, God knows where."

She continued to swipe at her hands with the towel, and Lex gently took it away from her, remembering a time when she had scrubbed her hands till they nearly bled. "Hey," he whispered, tilting her chin upwards. It had been a very long time since he had seen her look so on edge. "We're going to get her back," he told her. Lex wanted to be strong for her, wanted to be brave, but her face began to crumble anyway.

Lana mumbled incoherently as the sobs wracked her body, and she leaned heavily on Lex for support. "I just need to know that she's okay," she managed to say before her knees buckled. "God!" she forced out between clenched teeth. She tried to be quiet, so as not to wake her other babies in the next room, but her body simply wouldn't cooperate. Lex pulled her to him roughly, and she buried her face in his jacket to smother her cries.

"What if she's scared?" she asked, and Lex's heart sank. It was exactly the question he'd avoided asking himself all day. "What if she's hurt?" she added, and Lex jerked her face up to him.

"If anyone has hurt our child, I will spend the rest of my life hunting them down," he said resolutely. "If they lay even a hand on Kate, I promise you that I will make them suffer for it." He watched as coldness flashed across her eyes. Inside of her lurked a dangerous animal, and it was times like these that it surfaced.

The sudden arousal he felt for her then both surprised and delighted him. Ever since Jack had been born, they hadn't been together. At first because Lana was so sick, and then later because Lana was afraid of getting pregnant again. Truth be told, he was frightened of that also. The thought of losing her scared him more than anything else ever had. Even though she was on a very strong form of birth control, he'd still been afraid to touch her.

It seemed the most inappropriate thing to do, and yet when had that ever really stopped him? He needed to be closer to her, to feel that connection again. So much of the day they'd spent apart, each grieving individually, and now he couldn't be away from her for another second.

He kissed her lips gently and gave her a moment to respond, fearing rejection. During their entire married life, he always felt such a fear, and thought that he always would. It was hardwired in him to expect the worst. Lana looked into his eyes with a slightly bewildered look on her wet face. Tears still poured fourth, and her body shook with emotion.

Sensing his need, and recognizing her own, Lana cupped his face in her hands and kissed him back. It had been such a long time. The kiss quickly deepened and became urgent, unwilling to savor or slow down. She pushed Lex's jacket off of his shoulders, and reached for the buttons on his shirt, stopping just shy of the first one.

"What about the babies?" she asked, looking intently towards the slightly ajar bathroom door. True, they slept like rocks and would most likely not awaken, but after Kate's kidnapping she felt anxious leaving them alone.

"Graciela is camped right outside the bedroom," he answered, still trying to catch his breath.

Of course she was. Lana smiled a little and rested her head against his shoulder, breathing him in deeply.

"We can wait," Lex offered sweetly. The thought of that almost made her cry again, and instead of answering, she returned to his mouth. The need she felt for him came from some dark place deep in her soul, and would not be quieted. Their burst of passion continued as if it had never been interrupted. It was brutal and raw in a way that can only be achieved when occurring in such a circumstance.

Lana's fingernails scraped across his back as he bit at one of her nipples, and she grabbed his expert hand and thrust it between her legs. With his shirt half open, he ripped open his pants and pushed her back on the floor. She pulled off her baby blue panties and wrapped her legs around his waist.

The bathroom tile was cold on her back, and Lex was tender when he entered her, mindful of the delicate condition she was in. It hurt at first like it always did after a baby, but soon she relaxed enough and found her escape in pleasure. She forced out all thoughts of Kate and her whereabouts, and focused solely on her husband and each of his long, smooth strokes.

The orgasm hit like a freight train, and as her body reached its peak Lana felt the ridiculous urge to laugh out loud. The overload of emotions coupled with such intense physical feelings were simply too much for her rational mind to take and she felt hysterical with it. She bit down on her lip to keep it all in and tasted blood in her mouth. Once Lex stilled inside her and they lay together catching their breath, Lana felt the bad thoughts returning. She tried to push them away for a little while longer, but they surfaced too quickly for her to get a handle on.

Where before she'd wanted to laugh, now she cried and it burst out of her in an uncontrollable fury. Lex enveloped her in the safe cocoon of his arms, and she drew from him all of the strength he could bear to give.

* * *

Feeling useless, Nadia ran her fingers in slow circles around the rim of her glass. It was only orange juice this time, since she felt it wouldn't be right to be intoxicated while on guard duty. She would go to bed only after she was sure that Lana and the kids were sleeping. It was a small thing, but she felt like a contributor.

"I've never thought of orange juice as being a drink that could make a person appear contemplative," came a voice from behind her. She rolled her eyes and sighed as Lionel walked past, flipping on the light to the kitchen. He was not in his pajamas, and for that she was grateful.

"Hungry?" he asked, surprising Nadia briefly with his concern. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered that men always tried to make small talk after, usually in an attempt to get laid again.

"No, thank you," she answered curtly. He smirked and opened an overhead cupboard, withdrawing a box of crackers. Rather than something fancy, they were the type that one could pick up at a supermarket for a dollar or two. When he pulled out a small container of butter, she had to actively try not to stare at him in shock. This was such ridiculously normal behavior that it really started to freak her out.

"No night cap?" she asked, immediately feeling stupid. No, silly. That had already come.

Lionel laughed a little, and sat down at the table with his food, neatly arranging the items in their rightful locations. His meager snack was baffling to her. Wasn't this guy supposed to have descended from royalty? And here he was buttering his crackers!

Nadia shook her head a little, and stood to leave.

"No, stay for a moment," he said, halting her progress.

She sighed. "Lionel . . ."

"I wanted to talk to you about Kate."

Intrigued, she sat back down. "Okay," she said, waiting for him to go on. He took his time.

"I'm concerned with the way that Lex is handling this kidnapping business. He's being reckless. I understand that he feels desperate and I sympathize, but I'm not sure he's thought all of his actions through."

"What has he done?" Nadia asked.

"He's released a dangerous criminal onto the streets in an effort to track this Jennifer Stevens down," he said.

Nadia shrugged. "Well, if it helps to get Kate back . . . "

"This man is not one that you want to have out on the street for any length of time," Lionel continued. "And unfortunately, neither I nor my son have the resources to capture him after he's done the job and reincarcerate him. It was purely by accident that he was captured in the first place."

She frowned. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I believe that your in-laws can help us," he answered.

Nadia's stomach flopped over at the mention of those people. They blamed her for the deaths of her husband and son, maybe even rightfully so considering that she did as well.

"Well I haven't spoken to them in years," she told him. "You'll just have to talk to them yourself."

Lionel sat back in his chair. "They're quite a powerful family. They have the luxury of picking and choosing with whom they associate with. I need to go there immediately, and I need you to go with me."

Nadia shook her head. "What makes you think they'll even let me in? They hate me!" She hadn't meant to say so much, but he didn't look surprised.

"You're family." Lionel told her matter-of-factly.

"What do I really care if that guy is out there anyway?"

Lionel arched an eyebrow. "And what if he decides to not even attempt to find my granddaughter? What's to make him do his job? Are you willing to let that happen to Kate? Have her never be found because you were too scared to ask your former family for help?"

His challenge hit home, and she looked down at the floor. It intensely bothered her that he was right. He took her silence as her acceptance and continued to eat his crackers. She watched for a minute, and then took some for herself.


	5. Lay Me Down to Sleep

**Chapter Five: Lay Me Down to Sleep**

Inmate number 751 stepped out of the cab and onto the curb, pausing for a moment to breath in the fresh air. After living in a 6 x 9 cell for three years, all of the space around him was almost frightening. He felt loose, like a marble rattling around in a big box and almost didn't even know which way to go.

Stepping forward towards the bright lights of the airport, he walked cautiously, dazzled by the sights and smells around him. There were people everywhere; men, women, crying babies and kids, all sizes, all colors just mixed together like confetti. Each time he passed by a couple, or someone talking on their cell phone, he caught strange snippets of conversations that made no sense.

"_Yes, I did tell her that, but you have to understand Karen, that the d. . ."_

"_Say what? No! Don't even try and pretend . . ."_

" _. . .he said twice a day. You put the cream on after a shower. . ."_

"_She aint said shit, but I tell what I'm gonna say, 'girl have you lost your fuckin' mind?'"_

It was enough to drive him crazy, yet at the same time he loved it for giving him something new to ponder. While in captivity, all he'd had to think about was his mother in Texas, all alone with no one to care for her. She lived in South Texas in the same town where four generations of their family were born. Everyone knew her, family were around, but times had taken a severe toll on the poor woman, and isolated her from them.

His father had been a house painter and mechanic, and though he usually worked long hours just to make ends meet, he always had a kind word for his only son. He died of a heart attack when Inmate 751 was seven years old, after which his mother took on the responsibility of supporting them. There wasn't much to do in that hot, dusty town, but she took in sewing when she could, did some cleaning for people, and when times were especially tough, she laid herself out to men for $20 or so.

More often then not, food was scarce, so 751 would sneak into houses to take what they needed. He'd lie and tell his mother that he earned the money for the food by mowing lawns, or picking up cans, and for this she was proud. As always is the case however, he did get caught sometimes.

"Don't you never let me catch you in them people's house again!" his mother had screamed one night after the police escorted him home.

"I just thought. . ." he tried to say before she backhanded him.

"Don't backtalk me! We don't need no charity from no one. And we aint gonna take what aint ours neither. Hear me?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered stiffly, his red face stinging.

Before the age of 10, he knew that he was different from other children. He didn't like to play the same games as them, and took no pleasure in plastic toys or sports. For him, fun was nonexistent, and when his mother would tell him to 'go outside and play' while she entertained a male caller, he typically would just sit on the back porch and wait. He never asked about the men, and his mother never mentioned them either.

As far as he could remember, 751 felt no joy until one lazy summer afternoon when Billie White walked up to his front steps and asked him if he wanted to play hide and seek.

"What's that?" he'd asked her.

"You mean you never heard of hide and seek?" she'd asked with a laugh.

He scowled and turned his face away.

"What are you a freak?"

"No, I aint a freak," he said through gritted teeth. Billie had lived down the street from him all his life, had even been in some of the same classes at school, but this was the first time she'd ever actually spoken to him. She laughed again, and he looked up at her, squinting his eyes against the glare of the sun. Her mid-length flaxen hair was wild and stringy, and her long bangs fell into her freckled face. Though she was laughing, her expression was not unkind.

"Well how do you play?" he asked haltingly.

She propped her foot up on the step he was sitting on, and leaned against the rail. "I hide and you count to ten. After that, you come find me."

He had never heard of such a thing before, but the premise actually sounded exciting to him. "Who's all playin?" he asked.

"Just us."

She rested her head on her elbow and peeked at him through the curtain of her hair. He'd never been so near to a girl before; had never really noticed they existed. It surprised him to feel nervous next to Billie, and he squirmed a little in his seat.

"Why do you want to play with me?"

She smiled and punched his arm lightly. "Cause there's no one else silly," she said matter of factly. In later years, he supposed that that was probably an insult, but at the time he'd only smiled back and followed her.

Billie took him to the dilapidated shell of an abandoned movie theater that had never even been open for business. It had only been constructed halfway before funding ran out, and what was left was an enormous steel and concrete box. The roof and most of the walls were completed and the inside was filled with stacks of raw materials and equipment. From a parents' point of view, it was dangerous, but to a kid's creative eye, it was beautiful.

The Movie House, as it was locally called, was not an unknown location to 751. Often he came to hide behind the rubble to watch the other kids hang out. 'I see you,' he would think to himself as they spray painted the walls, lit their fires or practiced kissing techniques.

Having previously been a 'hider,' it seemed strange and backwards that he would now be a 'seeker.'

"Stay outside and count to 20," Billie called behind her as she ran through the front doors. The emotion that surged through him as he counted was unfamiliar, though it reminded him very much of the down swing of a giant ferris wheel.

"Come find me!" she shouted from inside. He felt a jolt in his gut as he stepped through the door and into the dark building. Since he had hidden so many times before, he had a pretty good idea of where to look. Each time he checked a good spot and didn't find her, rather than be disappointed, he felt relieved that the game wasn't over yet.

Silently, he moved through the rubble, keeping to the shadows so that she might not see him coming. The frantic fluttering of wings caught his attention, and he snapped his head in the direction to see two birds flying around as the opposite end of the room. Luckily for him, the sound had also alerted his prey, who made a small shuffling noise in the back.

Going around, 751 crept up behind her and watched quietly as she peered between two pieces of board trying to find him. Knowing that she was so vulnerable, crouching there on the ground was such a victory for him that he couldn't even move for fear of spoiling it.

_I see you._

As if hearing him, Billie turned her head in his direction and let out a blood-curdling scream. "God, you scared me!" she yelled at him, once recovered.

"I found you," he told her with a smile.

She stared at him with uncertain eyes, and finally untangled herself from her position on the floor. She kept herself at a distance from him, like most kids did, but gave a shaky laugh. "Well, it's your turn now to hide."

He didn't like that quite as much.

Over the years, Billie became his only friend. When she got her breasts, she showed them to him, and he thought that was nice. They didn't laugh and joke around like most teenagers did, nor did they watch television. Their time together was spent for the most part in silence.

At fourteen, Billie began to spend time with other people and this made him extremely jealous. He became even more so after discovering her in the back seat of her dad's Buick on top of a football jock. He watched them with a seething hatred as they shook the car and moaned together.

The more possessive and jealous he became, the farther away from him Billie went until she stopped spending time with him all together. He wouldn't let go though, and took to watching her through her bedroom window at night, and several times from her closet.

The obsession he had with her lasted until their 16th year, when he strangled her one hot afternoon after school out of sheer frustration. The kill scared him so badly that after stuffing her into a well and disposing of any evidence that he could think of, he helped search for her with others in the neighborhood and prayed for her safe return.

After high school, 751 began working as a prison guard at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, the city internationally famous for death row. It was here that he met Victor Hawk, former bounty hunter and was introduced to that line of work.

Hunting down convicts was a heavenly job for someone such as 751, but it did leave him a bit wanting, so he couldn't help but kill others on the side. All carried Billie's nondescript face and pale yellow hair.

He was on the hunt in Smallville when the meteor shower occurred, and after being hit by a ton of debris on the roadside, he awoke in the hospital three weeks later with a curious new ability. While looking for his keys, a pretty nurse or anything, he could actually see in his mind's eye the path in front of him where to go.

This newfound strength made him more successful at his job, but what it brought to his other work was nothing short of sublime. All he had to do was notice someone, follow them for a moment or two, and their entire future path would be revealed to him. He could walk away and not return for several months, still knowing exactly where they'd be.

It was Jennifer Stevens's path he was following now. Already she'd jumped twice; first to Philadelphia, and then to Milwaukee. She would be jumping many times in the next few days, but 751 hoped to catch her in Poughkeepsie.

Before boarding his flight, 751 decided to call his mother. He hadn't talked to her since before being captured, and worried about her well-being. The phone rang six times.

"Who's calling?" came the husky voice on the other end.

"It's me Mama," 751 answered, feeling relieved.

"Goodness, I thought you up and died or something. Where you been?"

"I've been working Mama," he lied smoothly. "How are you doing? Is everything okay at home?"

"I guess so. Your Aunt Carol died last year. She got the cancer in her gallbladder. They buried her in Brownsville in her family plot. We sent flowers."

"Oh that's nice."

"Mmm-hmm. Well, are you planning on coming home anytime soon? It'd be nice to know that you were still all in one piece."

"Yeah I'll probably get to stop in real soon. Tell everyone 'Hi' for me."

"All right son. Do good."

He said goodbye and hung up, feeling slightly guilty as he always did after talking to her. She'd worry herself a heart attack if she knew the kinds of things he'd done and where he'd recently been.

751 took a deep breath and walked further into the airport. In his suitcase were three guns- a disassembled snipers rifle, two pistols and enough ammunition for all. It seemed impossible that he might make it through airport security, and yet at every check point, he sailed through, still clutching his bag. The reach of Lex Luthor amazed him.

* * *

Katherine Luthor was afraid to close her eyes. Her body was so tired that she could barely move, and yet her brain simply wouldn't signal her eyelids to close. She knew that she was in trouble, real trouble, and didn't quite know how to get out of it.

The day started strangely, and she should have known that something was wrong. Her nanny never came to wake her so early, but Kate had been so sleepy that she failed to properly register the time. When Jennifer reached for her, by instinct she climbed into her embrace and even began to fall back asleep as she swayed gently with her.

A strange new sensation snapped her awake as she felt her entire body feel as though it were being pulled sharply. If she'd had air to breathe, she might have cried out, but there was nothing but the smell of sulfur, a blinding light and then a sudden stop.

When Kate opened her eyes again, her surroundings were new. Gone was her familiar pink bedroom, and her brother Alex who curled his little fingers into her hair each night. Instead, they stood in a small lower class room with very few furnishings. It smelled stale and its white walls were dingy and pockmarked by careless wall hangings. This was not home.

She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what their location was, but instead out came a scream, which started low in intensity at first, and built to a level that even alarmed her. Jennifer just watcher her in mild amusement, and made no move to shut her up. Eventually, Kate's throat became sore, and she stopped screaming.

"No one can hear you," Jennifer told her. "We're in an abandoned building for now, but we'll be leaving in a few hours."

Kate knew what this was- her mother had told her. It was called kidnapping. "Take me home!" Katherine said in an authoritative voice.

"No, you're not going home," Jennifer replied.

Kate felt her throat go dry, and her bottom lip quivered. "It's my breakfast time, and my mother will expect me at the table." She thought reasoning with the woman might help.

"You will have breakfast with me," Jennifer said, walking over to an open kitchenette. She took out two bowls and spoons from the cabinet and set them on the counter. As she prepared cereal, Kate took the opportunity to look around the room she was in again. No television. No phone.

"Come on, come eat," Jennifer called from the kitchen. With no other option, Kate complied and sat at the plain table as instructed. She inspected the food, and pushed it away from herself.

"I'm not hungry."

"Don't be ridiculous, we have a long day ahead of us."

"I won't eat until you take me home."

"Then you'll starve to death," Jennifer shrugged. She stuffed her own spoon into her mouth and slurped her milk, causing Kate to wince. Had she no proper manners?

"You kidnapped me," Kate said. It was a statement, not a question.

"I suppose so."

"Why?"

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Jennifer answered, smiling sweetly. Kate recognized a fake smile when she saw one. Grownups gave them all the time when they didn't want to tell you something. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the older woman eat as if she had not a care in the world.

"My Dad will be angry," Kate said, feeling pretty angry herself. Jennifer only smiled again.

"Yes, I suppose he will be," she said in between bites. This was obviously going nowhere, so Kate leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, desperately trying to think of what to do next. While Jennifer ate, she looked around at the windows, noticing two. One was in the living room, and the other in the kitchen above the sink.

Wasting no time, Kate flung herself out of her chair and raced through the living room to the window, throwing the curtains open victoriously. To her horror, she saw thick black bars crisscrossed over the opening. There was no way she'd ever make it through.

"They're on the kitchen window too," Jennifer informed her, still seated at the table. She got up with her now empty bowl and rinsed it out in the sink. She came out and sat down in an old brown chair, pulling a book out of her jacket pocket.

"You know, you're a pretty smart little girl," she said nodding her way. "Just like they said you would be."

"Who said?"

"Here," Jennifer answered, ignoring the question. She pulled out a pen and a small notebook from her jacket. That pocket reminded Kate of Mary Poppin's bag. How much did she have in there anyway? She tossed the items over to Kate, who took them with curiosity. After a moment of deliberations, she decided to write her parents a letter.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I know that you are probly worryed about me, but I am okay. Give Alex my bear so that he can go to sleep case I am not back yet. I will try to come home as soon as I can. I love you._

_Love Kate_

That would have to do. She quickly scribbled a picture of a cat, and showed it to Jennifer. "Look what I made!" she said brightly.

"Very nice!" Jennifer exclaimed, giving her a hug. Kate cringed, but took the opportunity to drop the folded note to her parents behind the chair. She didn't know what else to do.

The day passed by slowly, and with nothing else to do to fill the time, Kate could only think about what was going on at home. She had no real idea about what was going on there, except that people would be sad that she was gone, and mad that somebody took her. One thing she knew for sure was that they would be looking for her.

Several long hours after arriving in their current location, Jennifer gathered Kate up and they "moved" again. The smell of sulfur stayed in her nose for a good hour, and irritated her already sore throat. Again refusing to eat, Katherine went to bed early, curling up on a blanket laid out for her on the floor. She felt sick and hungry and wanted more than anything to be at home where her family was- Mom, Dad, Alex, Jack, Pop and Graciela. She missed them all and made a dozen promises in her heart, if only she were able to see them again.

* * *

Lana sighed and opened her eyes to the darkened room. Even after an hour of lying there with her two babies snuggled up against her, there was no sleeping to be had. All she could think about was Kate.

The room was mostly quiet, interrupted only by the sounds of baby Jack's light snoring, and she rubbed a hand over his back lightly. Briefly he stopped snoring and came to life, sucking vigorously on his pacifier before drifting off again.

She tried to remind herself that she was a good mother, but how could that be so when one of her children was stolen so easily right under her nose? Surely that must mean that she is not up to the task of motherhood. That she must be deficient in some way. Looking at her two sons, she worried about their well-being. If Kate never came home, how could she go on and raise them knowing that she had failed?

Lana shook her head a little and pulled Alex and Jack closer to her, determined to be strong at least for them. A small movement next to the bed alarmed her, and she looked up to see Lex, sitting up in a chair.

"Lex," she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Just go to sleep honey," he said. "Everything's okay."

"Aren't you coming to bed?" She looked over the babies to make sure there was room on the other side of them.

"Later," he answered, and she let it go. He wouldn't be coming to bed- she knew that. Lex would sit up all night and watch over them. Keep them safe.


	6. Suspicions

**Chapter Six: Suspicions**

Lex made his way through the crowded park in a panic, his eyes studying each and every child's face to be sure. She could be anywhere. "Kate!" he screamed. Several of the kids nearest to him became frightened and started crying, their worried mothers rushing over to protect them. He couldn't be bothered with that, and shoved the angry parents out of the way. "Kate!" he screamed again, even louder. The crowd around him surged and seemed to breathe, contracting and expanding like a living organism.

The sound of giggles drew his attention to the left where a large, red jungle gym stood. A lone occupant sat at the top of the slide and smiled down at him. "I'm right here Daddy," Kate sang. She stood up and disappeared into the tunnel behind her.

"No, wait!" Lex shouted at her, and without thinking, vaulted up the slide and into the small tunnel after her.

"I'm over here," Kate called from the opening at the end. As Lex followed, she lept away, laughing.

Lex chased Kate through the tunnels, down the ladders and over the chain bridges till it felt as though he were moving in slow motion. Always, she stayed just out of his reach, and wouldn't respond to his manic pleading for her to just stand still. Somewhere deep inside, Lex knew that this was all a dream- a nightmare that wasn't real. But still he kept trying, even when his hands and knees were bleeding from overuse and his voice box no longer made human sounds.

When his eyes opened at 4:00am, Lex decided that he'd had enough sleeping for the night and stood up out of his chair to stretch. Already, he could hear the house coming alive again and was satisfied that Lana and the babies would be okay if he left. He pulled his jacket back on, straightened his shirt, and after giving Lana a last look, stepped outside with determination. Today would be the day he found his daughter. He was sure of it.

"Mr. Senator," greeted the FBI agent that stood outside of his bedroom door. Already he had a status report prepared. "The NSA has compiled a list of foreign dignitaries who could have possibly ordered the kidnapping of your daughter, and our main office is looking at that list now."

"Who's on it?" The two men made their way through the crowded hallways to the study.

"The usual suspects. It's warranted because this kidnapping is a matter for national security, but probably not necessary. Chances are Katherine was taken for personal and not political reasons."

Lex nodded, having heard this before.

"O.P.A. Director Cochran has also released a statement condemning the kidnapping, and pledged a full investigation."

This perked Lex's interest. He stopped and turned to the agent. "What have they sent?"

The agent gave a bitter laugh. "A stack of papers were couriered over an hour ago. Everything pertaining to one Miss Jennifer Stevens."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Lex pronounced angrily.

Taking the matter more seriously, the agent put on a somber expression. "Mr. Senator, it appears the file is identical to the one we already have. Down to the letter."

Lex was shocked. "You're telling me that not only does the CIA not know anything more about Jennifer Stevens than we do, but that they have the same intelligence source?"

"It appears so."

No, that didn't sound right. "Who signed the order?" he asked.

"A.D.D. Byrne."

The name hung in the air for several moments before Lex thanked Special Agent Nguyen and stepped into his office alone. The file sat in the middle of his desk, and he eyed it curiously while making himself a drink. The amber liquid burned his throat comfortably, and with heat in his chest, he sat down and flipped open the file.

Name: Jennifer Stevens

Birthdate: 03/26/1981

Birthplace: Grandville, Kansas

Mother: Julia Collins (deceased)

Father: Hugo Stevens (deceased)

Siblings: None

Biography Summary: Jennifer Stevens is the only child of Hugo and Julia Stevens, grand-daughter of Maria and Claude Stevens and Mary and George Collins, all deceased. Families originate from Texas and New York respectively. Hugo Stevens was a steel mill operator in Grandville Kansas, employed at Grandville Steel from 1974-1987. Work record is exemplary. Julia Stevens was a filing clerk at Grandville City Hall, employed from 1979-1987. Married on 23 June 1980. Jennifer began school at Grandville Elementary in 1986, earning high marks in class. In 1987, Hugo and Julia Stevens were killed in a car accident while traveling to Metropolis. With no living relatives, Jennifer was sent to live at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Metropolis.

Lex paused in his reading, realizing that it was at this point that Lana probably decided to hire Jennifer in the first place. She felt they had something in common- a weakness that was obviously exploited.

Jennifer was a model student throughout her stay and had no major problems. She graduated from school in 1999, and began working full time back at Sacred Heart until being hired by Lana Luthor. Jennifer is unmarried, and has no children.

What followed were the same 53 pages of references, report cards, photographs and parking tickets that he'd already seen the day before. It made no sense that this was all the CIA had, and it made less sense that they would bother sending it over when they must have known that the FBI had already accumulated the information doing simple background checks and light investigative work. There was virtually nothing different.

Lex flipped through the pages becoming more and more angry, when a flash of yellow caught his attention. Special Agent Nguyen had obviously not gone through the entire stack of papers, or else he would have seen it also. A small yellow post-it note was attached to the back of one of the pictures.

Nothing was written on the note, but when Lex pulled it off, an inscription was written underneath that read, "Aunt Maggie and Jennie, age 4." He flipped the picture over to see a middle aged blonde woman standing near a barn with her arm around Jennifer, the Smallville water tower clearly visible in the background.

"That's not possible," Lex said out loud, dropping the picture and reaching inside of his desk drawer for a copy of the file that the FBI had compiled. He located the same picture. The water tower was nowhere to be seen, and the back was blank.

* * *

"So you're saying that somebody is lying to us?" Lana asked, pulling her robe more tightly around her. 

"I'm not sure," Lex answered in a measured voice. He didn't want to frighten her, but Lana needed to know what was going on with the people around them.

Lana studied the pictures and frowned. "I don't think this one is fake," she said, holding up the CIA copy. "I'm pretty sure this is the Landers farm."

Lex nodded, and stood up off of the bed. "I want you to stay here and . . ."

"No, I'm coming with you."

"Lana . . ."

"Lex," she pleaded. "I can't just stay here and do nothing. Rebecca is here to take care of Alex and Jack. I . . .I need to help. Just let me." She looked up into his face with big eyes, and then her jaw hardened and she put her shoulders back. "I'm coming," she said resolutely, and flung her robe open on her way to the closet. "Don't leave without me!" she warned while pulling a blouse over her head.

Lana emerged wearing a simple white shirt and blue jeans, attire he hadn't seen on her in quite a while. She looked young, and animated. Determined. He smirked at her when she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and slammed a pair of hiking boots onto her feet.

"What?" she asked, catching his look.

His smile broadened a bit, and then he wiped it away quickly. "We better get going," he reminded. Lana left instructions that Rebecca not leave the kids for even a second while they were away.

"What if I have to pee?" she'd asked, only half serious.

"Either hold it, or take them with you," was Lana's answer. What followed was a joke about the boys learning the ropes early that Lana didn't quite pay attention to. She adored Rebecca's fierce sense of humor, but was not in the mood for laughs.

After threatening the remaining staff with their lives, Lana and Lex were finally on their way. Lana was grateful that it was just the two of them going instead of having to hear back from a battalion of special force operatives. In hindsight though, maybe it would have been nice to have their support.

"Maybe we should have brought some of the agents with us?" she said, voicing her thoughts out loud. They drove at breakneck speed in one of his older model Porsches towards the Smallville water tower. Lex focused on the road with a severe expression on his face, and Lana worried about his intentions.

"We don't know who we can trust Lana. I'd rather not endanger you at all, if I don't have to."

"I'm fine," she huffed, feeling a little snubbed.

He sighed, softening his features slightly and looked over at her, intent on saying something to make her feel less fragile. But it was no time to be sensitive. Instead he asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

"Turn right onto Carlan road. It's just past Loeb Bridge on the right side."

Lex's face hardened again as they made the turn and headed towards the bridge. It had been such a long time since his car had plowed over the side, but he never quite felt safe traversing it. He supposed it was ridiculous superstition, but Lex eased off of the gas peddle just in case.

As they pulled slowly into the Landers earthy driveway, Lex's body tensed and went on alert. There was no obvious activity, and this somehow made him more nervous.

"I guess there's no one home?" Lana asked, as they pulled to a stop in front of the old house. Nothing had changed much from its picture, which was more than twenty years old. The yellow paint had dried to a faded off-white, peeling away in several places and the beams supporting the front porch looked like nothing more than jagged toothpicks, ready to blow over at any given point. Clearly, the Landers Farm had fallen on some bad times.

"Stay here," Lex instructed, pulling a gun out of the glove compartment. He clicked the safety off and then stood up out of the car, closing the door quietly behind him. Lana locked the door for safety and watched him with wide eyes as he walked up onto the porch. A knock, two and nothing.

He tilted his head to the side as if listening to something, and then opened the unlocked door and stepped inside. Lana waited in terror for two full minutes until he returned, motioning for her to follow. She exited the car silently and walked with him into the house. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

"God, what a pigsty," Lana remarked, covering her nose. The entire place was trashed and a foul smell permeated everything, making it hard to breathe. They had to step over a large pile of old phone books and newspapers to get to the "family" room, which consisted of a dirty couch and strange odds and ends covering every available surface- old lamps, pictures frames with no glass in them, a rusted bicycle that had no chain on it, no less than three broken television sets and other strange, neglected items. A blackened, potted plant sat in the windowsill.

"It's like time just stopped back in the seventies or something," Lana whispered.

"Smells like it too," Lex said with a hoarse voice. The air was thick and sticky feeling, as though the smell had substance. Lex could feel the stink begin to coat his mouth, and wanted to vomit. "Let's hurry up and get out of here," he choked.

Lana picked up a stack of mail and, finding it uninteresting, dropped it back down on the couch. "What are we looking for?" she asked.

They went into the kitchen where someone had left a box full of photographs and newspaper clippings on the table. While Lex thumbed through the stack, Lana opened a window and stuck her head out, taking deep breaths of fresh air. She looked back over her shoulder at Lex.

"That's convenient," she observed, nodding towards the pictures.

"Yes it is," Lex agreed. "Someone obviously laid this out for us."

Lana coughed, and put her head back outside. "Well, they could have cracked a few windows for us too. What the hell is that smell?"

"Old food?" He glanced at the piles of unwashed dishes on both sides of the sink. The trash overflowed, and empty tv dinner trays, soup cans and milk jugs littered the floor. A half eaten plate of what looked to be spaghetti molded on the counter.

Returning his gaze to the papers in front of him, Lex pushed aside the many black and white photographs and focused on the newspaper clippings. There were several obituaries, presumably of dead relatives and friends. He found one for Jenny's parents, and held it up.

"Here she is," he said to Lana, who reluctantly pulled herself back inside.

"It's the news story about the death of her parents. She was an orphan," Lana murmured. She appeared dazed for a moment and the shook her head clear. "How did we miss this?"

Lex pulled another clipping out of the stack. "Because she wasn't really an Aunt," he said.

Lana leaned over to read the yellowed paper he held in his hands. It was a graduation notice. "Her mother and 'Aunt Maggie' went to Smallville High together," she noted. "Jennifer must not have spent much time here, otherwise we would have found the link."

Lex shrugged. "Who _would_ spend time here?"

They left the kitchen and stepped into the hall, where it seemed that the smell only got worse. "I don't think that's food," Lana mumbled through her shirt. She tried to protect her mouth and nose as best she could.

They passed a bathroom that was surprisingly clean and stood three feet in front of a closed bedroom door. "Is that where it's coming from?" Lana gagged. Lex didn't answer, and shortened the distance quickly to get it over with. He twisted the knob, and the door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. A fresh wave of the putrid stench washed over with, making them both dizzy.

When Lana could see into the room, she screamed.

The body of an old, dead woman lay on the bed. Her graying hair splayed over her pillow neatly, and her hands were sweetly folded over her chest. If it weren't for the flies and worms crawling over her face, she could have been sleeping.

Lana ran back through the house, out the front door to the lawn where she vomited on the grass. The smell that clung to her clothes and hair kept her dry heaving for a few minutes, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

Lex finally emerged from the house with a box of papers under his arm, and his cell phone at his ear. He finished the call to the police, and headed down the stairs, resting a comforting hand on her back.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Did she do that?" Lana asked.

"I don't think so," Lex answered. "But I'm going to find out."

* * *

Nadia squirmed in her seat and whimpered, prompting Lionel to glance over his newspaper at her in concern. The plane ride was long, and despite the fact that they were in a multi-million dollar private jet, was still uncomfortable. After the long night's vigil over Lana, Nadia had been tired and rather than be grouchy, she sort of withdrew into herself, a state that had surprised Lionel. She stared at the wall in front of her for a few hours, and then fell into a fitful sleep. He could only guess at what troubled her dreams. 

Where most girls who shared his bed left his memory the moment they left his room, Nadia had a way of lingering. He supposed it might be that he empathized with her past, and knowing that she had also lost a spouse and a child seemed to at the very least, make her a kindred spirit. He liked her spunk, and even though she was (much) younger than him, she felt like a contemporary, one he felt he could actually talk to.

Ever since Nadia had developed a friendship with Lana, they had been thrown together in the same vicinity often. Though they never exchanged pleasantries, Nadia wasn't that way, their relationship was somewhat cordial. Lionel had found himself looking forward to their traded barbs.

The sex they shared the night before had been a surprise. It didn't mean anything (as if it would have), but it was nice in a way. Afterwards, he'd poured her a drink, and they sat together in comfortable silence, both simply content to just be. It was rare for Lionel to stay with a woman once the after glow had faded, but knowing that Nadia neither needed nor cared for anything from him was strangely comforting. It wasn't until he'd cleared his throat in an effort to talk to her, that she'd bolted from the room.

He watched her now, slumped over in the seat with legs tucked under, and realized how fragile she really was. Underneath that tough exterior lie a deeply wounded being. It was like looking in a mirror.

Nadia gasped and jerked awake, her body visibly shaken from the dream she'd awakened from. She rubbed a weak hand over her face, and breathed deeply with her eyes closed to steady herself. _Only a dream…_

"Are you all right?" Lionel asked, setting his newspaper aside. The scathing look she cast in his direction made him instantly realize that he shouldn't have spoken. Would he have wanted anyone to see him so vulnerable?

"I'm fine," she answered, tight lipped. Nadia rose and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Lionel to ponder the closed door behind her.

* * *

751 disembarked the plane and entered the terminal in Poughkeepsie. He still had several hours before Jennifer would be jumping there with Katherine, and his mind began to wander. He sat down, and watched the girls pass by- a broad faced teen with curly auburn hair, a voluptuous brunette with flawless cocoa colored skin, a raved haired beauty with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. All were lovely and oblivious to the danger that watched them so closely. 

751 closed his eyes and watched as they returned home. The brunette was married, and being cheated on. She knew, but as long as her husband paid the bills and was generous to their children, she could hardly complain. She had her own affairs besides. The one with auburn curls was lonely, and sat in her bedroom at night wishing for romance to finally find her. Sometimes she hurt herself, thinking that maybe she could finally gain the attention of her parents, but lacked the courage to really follow through.

The raven-haired beauty had no lack of steady boyfriends or girlfriends. Life was good, and the sex was usually fun, but she had let the man of her dreams walk out many years before and felt now as though nothing quite measured up. What she lacked in quality, she made up for in quantity, thinking that perhaps in some twisted way it might level out. What she really wanted was to meet someone she might like to make a baby with, but deep inside she knew that only the one who got away had been worthy.

They all interested 751, but it wasn't until the glare of the overhead lights fell onto the angelic cascade of a straw colored mane that he felt desire. The girl passed by him, and he inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering closed in ecstasy. She smelled like cheap drugstore perfume, something fruity and innocent that young girls tend to favor.

The girl traveled with her parents, and moved behind them robotically, her attention turned inwards to the ipod she had around her neck. He couldn't hear the song she listened to, but imagined the words anyhow as he watched her hair swing softly against her back as she walked.

Moving quickly, 751 left the terminal and hailed a cab to a nearby mall. He sipped a soft drink nervously as he waited for the girl to step into view. She'd sneaked out of the house while her parents were drunk and fighting. She did this often as a way to escape the chaos. Her tiny frame weaved through the crowd, and when a larger teenaged boy bumped into her, nearly knocking her down, 751 told him to "watch where the fuck he was going," and helped the girl to her feet.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"You're welcome." He smiled then, and beamed when she smiled back. She was a plain girl, her skin nearly the same pale shade as her hair, but 751 thought she was lovely. "Some boys just don't know how to act around a pretty girl," he added, to which she blushed furiously.

"Yeah," she answered, embarrassed.

The compliment allowed him to walk and talk with her, as those types of things usually do. They played video games and shared a bowl of French fries, laughing and giggling over the stories she told about junior high. The real fun came later as he chased her through the still shadowed parking lot. She'd screamed only once, cried a little, and finally died a little after 10 am.

751 still had several hours to kill, and simply didn't know what to do with himself.


	7. Eyes of the Father

**Chapter Seven: Eyes of the Father**

_**Author's Note**__: I need to apologize in advance for something… When I originally planned this story, it was to be the second part of a trilogy. The scope was very large, which is why there were so many characters. Some, like Lindsay (Lana's sister) and Rebecca (her friend) were to factor heavily into the third story, which is why they needed to be introduced now._

_Unfortunately, I don't know if I will ever begin (let alone finish) the third story. For that reason, I'm going to have to cut back sharply on the attention I give Lindsay and Rebecca, and focus on the characters who drive this story forward._

_I'm really sorry about this! If I hadn't already posted parts of this one, I would have found a way to edit their parts out and write around them._

After arriving back home, Lex ordered everyone not to disturb him as he waited in his office for the plan to be in place. With the door locked, he sat in front of the fire and sipped his bourbon slowly, feeling giddy almost, as if his entire being had been in a slumber for several years and was just now waking up again. It had been about that long since he had done anything so dangerous.

"_What do we do if they discover that we're gone?" Lana had asked._

"_Lana, they're watching us. We have no choice but to go this route. Go lay down like you're taking a nap, and don't move. I'll come and get you when we're ready."_

A phone call brought Lex out of his trance. "Lex Luthor," he answered.

"Sir, the NSA analysts have arrived at the labs. They're waiting for you."

"Thank you."

Lex took his glass back to the bar, and grabbed a remote from a box on his desk. With a quick punch of a button, a blue light flashed in front of the fire and then dissolved into a perfect hologram of himself sitting in his chair, drinking. Lex smiled at the image, delighted to see that it worked so well.

A slight touch to a panel on the wall opened a hidden door that opened to a dark passage. They were ancient tunnels, and known only to the family. Lex went to get Lana, and after setting up a hologram of her as well, they made their way deep under the castle where a second set of tunnels would lead them into the forest that ran alongside the mansion. The only person aware of their plan was Rebecca, who watched over the children and prayed for their safety.

It was a full ten minutes before they made it to the underground tunnels. Lana had approved of them being built in case the family ever needed to escape for whatever reason. Despite their wealth and connections, Lana was always fearful of enemies lurking nearby. She'd joked that Lex's paranoia had simply been contagious, but seeing the current events play out had made her a believer.

Still, the tunnels were eerie. The ceiling had lights, which were triggered by motion, and only stayed lit temporarily. It seemed as though they were running towards nothing, and each footstep echoed into the darkness before and after them. Lana struggled against the dizziness.

When they finally reached a door, both were slightly winded. Lana chuckled a little as Lex held it open for her.

"What?" he asked.

"We're a little out of practice, 007."

Lex grinned back at her as she walked past and stepped into what looked like a giant underground parking garage. It was the first time she'd been down there.

"Where are we?" Lana asked, feeling disoriented.

"The tunnel we just left only ran under the house. We're still on the grounds, but this will lead us out to the far road."

Four cars sat at the ready, each shining in the florescent lights. Lex pulled out a set of keys, and the headlights flashed in the nearest car. They slipped into the sleek, black Mercedes and drove towards a wall that suddenly opened up to yet another long, dark tunnel.

Lana squirmed in her seat. "You know, Lex. When I said to go ahead with your plans of building an escape route under the house, I didn't realize it would be so…elaborate."

Lex sneered in mock irritation. "You wouldn't have second-guessed James Bond."

She laughed, enjoying the rare moment of levity. "My mistake."

They drove the rest of the way through the tunnel in silence, and emerged from the ground to a cloudy day. They stayed off of the main highway, and took as many back roads as were possible to reach the lab known as 33.1.

Lex met with the NSA analysts alone.

"Mr. Luthor," they greeted, standing as he entered the room. It was a man and woman, both who looked to be in their thirties. The woman was actually quite attractive, which Lex thought Lana would appreciate. He did not shake their hands.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I have dozens of files sent over from the FBI and CIA and other various three initial organizations that need to be looked over."

"Yes sir," the woman spoke up. She had a no-nonsense persona, and wanted to get straight down to business. "But as I said to your secretary on the phone, there really isn't much we can do from here. It would be best if we can take what you have back to DC with us so that we can work on it there."

Lex's face held an unflinching, slight smile, which made the woman uncomfortable.

"You could have simply faxed it all, and saved us a trip," the woman finished with an awkward laugh. She and the man next to her shifted their feet in silence, and waited for Lex to speak.

"I guess that would have been considerate of me- to think of your needs first."

"Mr. Luthor," the man started. He stepped forward, but seeing Lex's expression turn icy made him stop dead in his tracks. "We are here to help you, Sir," he stammered.

"Are you?" Lex closed the distance between them slowly. "Are you really?"

The man swallowed. "Well, yes."

Lex smiled ominously. "Well I actually do have something that I could use your help with."

A door opened behind Lex, and two security agents dressed in black emerged behind him.

"But I'm afraid that you might not like it."

At that, the analysts gave way to their fear and screamed when guns were pointed at them. Several loud cracks echoed around the room, and a light trail of smoke puffed from the tips of the guns. The analysts fell to their knees and hit the ground in ungraceful lumps.

* * *

"Will it hurt?" Lana scrunched up her nose, and watched as the lab tech filled a hypodermic needle with a glowing yellow liquid.

"You may feel a bit of discomfort," the tech answered without looking at her.

"It looks like urine."

"It's not urine," Lex assured her, as he rolled up his sleeve.

Lana watched with wide eyes as the tech injected the yellow (urine) serum into Lex's forearm. She watched Lex's face as he grimaced, and shut his eyes briefly.

"Does it hurt?" she asked fearfully.

"Stings a little going in."

Lana placed a protective hand into his, and he gave her a grateful smile. They waited together as the tech readied the chamber that Lex would soon be placed in. Finally it was time, and Lana looked up at the man expectantly. She didn't need to ask again.

"You'll feel a bit of stretching, Mr. Luthor. It will take approximately 30-40 seconds for the skin to loosen, and then another minute for the bones to fill in underneath. It will tighten again quickly after that, and all of the surface changes will take place. In all, the procedure takes about four minutes."

Lana shuddered, and turned back to Lex, looking deeply into his eyes. "Are you sure we need to do this?"

He sighed, and touched her face softly, quickly memorizing its fine detail. "We have to," he finally said, rising from his seat. He didn't look back as he entered the chamber, and stood inside with his back to her.

Lana watched as the tech closed and locked the door of what looked like a giant torture device. Several other doctors watched readouts that she couldn't decipher on computer screens, and seemed to speak in code. As the chamber whirred to life, Lana stared at its metal door in horror.

A grunt from inside. Two. Lana began counting the seconds. Four minutes and it would be all over. Her eyes shot to the computers, and could see that Lex's heart rate had sped up significantly. She knew that he was either frightened, or in pain. Maybe both.

Twenty-nine…thirty…thirty-one…

Lex shouted, and sounded to Lana like a wild animal.

Fifty-three…fifty-four…fifty-five…

As his shouts began to transform into the low wails of a wounded beast, a tear slipped down Lana's face.

"He's hurt!"

"Only another two and a half minutes Mrs. Luthor," the tech told her. He turned back to his computer, and punched in a random string of numbers.

"He can't wait that long!" The cries coming from the chamber tore at her heart, and she sprang to action.

The tech jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Mrs. Luthor…"

"Stop it. Turn it off."

"We can't do that Ma'am."

"You have to, you're killing him!" She struggled to escape from the tech's surprisingly strong grasp.

"If we stop now, he'll be disfigured for the rest of his life. We have to wait."

Lana backed away from the tech, and walked to the chamber door, resting her hand on its smooth surface. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she listened to the pitiful cries of her husband until a final high-pitched yelp signaled the end of his torture.

She stepped back, and eagerly waited for the tech to open the door. When he did, Lex's body slumped to the floor, his clothes drenched in sweat. She rushed over to hold him, and then froze when she saw his face. A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it, and when Lex opened his eyes, she stared into the brown irises of a stranger.

"That bad huh?" Lex managed to say, seeing her horrified expression. He wondered briefly what she would think about having sex with him, now that he had hair. That idea spread a painful smile across his face, that to everyone else looked to be the lunatic smile of a madman.

Lana didn't ask, but could tell by his mannerisms that he was still in a great deal of pain. When he tried to take his first step, he fell flat on his face.

"Oh my God, Lex, are you okay?" Lana rushed to his side. She still felt funny calling him by his name, now that he had all of the facial features of the male NSA analyst they'd abducted.

"Yeah," he groaned, pulling himself up. She helped him to his feet, and they stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, each trying to figure out what to say.

Lex spoke first. "Lana, you don't have to do this. I can go alone."

She was terrified of going through the procedure, but tried to appear calm. "You're not going without me," she answered. When he tried to object, she raised a hand to silence him. "I can do it. For Katherine. For you." Her look of determination took on a softer tone as she said these last words, and Lex reluctantly let her go.

After receiving her injection, Lana stepped towards the chamber, turning back to give Lex a last look before the door closed behind her. Heat descended from the ceiling, and she immediately felt as though she were inside a small sauna, making it hard to breathe. She literally felt like she were melting.

Lex stared at the metal door with a mixture of sadness and pride shining in his eyes. Always so brave… so foolish, his girl. So willing to follow him wherever he went, even into darkness. As Lana began to whimper inside, he wondered how far she would go. What her limits were, if she had any. When she screamed, he shut his eyes and waited for her to stop, waited for it all to end. He thought of her face, and wondered when he'd see it again.

* * *

Jennifer landed in the prearranged apartment in Poughkeepsie and set an exhausted Katherine down on the floor. The child sat down heavily and placed her head in her hands. She hadn't slept at all the night before, and was growing weary from their constant travels.

Kate coughed, and Jennifer sent a concerned glance in her direction. All of the jumping couldn't be good for her, and even though they probably wouldn't have to do it as much if they just went further away, Jennifer had never really felt comfortable going overseas with her gift. She always worried about falling into the ocean, and being swallowed by a whale.

A small sound distracted her from her thoughts, and she stiffened. It had come from inside of the apartment. Her nerves tingled and stretched thin as she listened with her whole body. The air felt different somehow, as if it had been recently disturbed. She had been too exhausted from the trip earlier to notice.

Jennifer turned around slowly, and saw nothing. It was the same type of nondescript apartment that they had been jumping into all day, but something here was different. It was not vacant as all the others had been.

A quick glance at Kate revealed that the girl was completely oblivious to the difference.

"Kate," Jennifer whispered.

She glanced up at Jennifer with tired eyes.

"Come here." Jennifer motioned for the girl to come to her side.

"Why?" Katherine asked. She was getting very tired of being told what to do.

Jennifer smelled the man before she saw him. He had a nice manly scent- musky and thick. The kind of smell you loved to curl up next to on early Saturday mornings. An image flashed through her mind of a handsome and attentive lover, dressed in pajamas, reading his newspaper at the kitchen table. He would greet her with a slow spreading smile, and pull her down for a kiss before breakfast.

The man who stepped into view was not that stranger. He was tall, well over six feet, with a thick build and a closely shaven head. His eyes were a steely gray, and his square jaw set in a hard line. This was not a man to cuddle up to.

751 stared at the pretty woman with auburn hair, and looked into her path. All he could see was death.

"You have something that I need," he said, breaking the silence.

Kate's body jumped at the sound, and she jerked around to see who had spoken. A scary looking man stood less than four feet away from her. He was looking strangely at Jennifer, who seemed shaken to the core. She visibly wobbled in her stance, and her extreme nervousness sent a cold chill up Katherine's spine. It was a frightening thing to see your kidnapper be afraid of someone.

Kate pulled herself into position to jump up if she needed to, and the sudden movement caught the man's attention. His eyes opened wide as he stared at her, and his mouth gaped open. Katherine suddenly felt the extreme need to urinate, and had to remind herself not to let go. She clamped down hard on her fear, because that's what her father would have wanted her to do.

751 had heard a small shuffling sound and looked to his right. At first, all he could see was the glare of sunlight streaming in through the window, and then finally the rays parted, allowing him the vision of a child angel, who stared him down fiercely. The sight stunned him.

751 was so transfixed, that Jennifer was able to run over and grab Kate, throwing her arms around her protectively. With a sharp cry, she force jumped into the street outside, the force of which knocked both woman and child to their feet. She hadn't properly been able to set up a jump to their next location, but had managed a quick escape.

"I want to go home!" Katherine finally screamed. She pried herself free from Jennifer's grip and hit the pavement hard. She scrambled away, and started to run, getting only a few feet before being caught again.

"I want to go home!" she screamed again, dissolving into a fit of tears. She coughed and gagged, making a huge racket.

Jennifer struggled with the crazed child, and placed a hand over her mouth to quiet her. Sensing that the man from the apartment would be down to get them in any moment, Jennifer prepared for her next jump.

Her mind buzzed with questions. How did the man find them? Did he have a gift? Was he working for Lex, or was he on her side? Or did they send him to kill her? Or even kill Kate? She knew nothing, but quickly realized that what started as a relatively easy operation, was fast becoming very complicated.

As the two disappeared again, 751 made his way outside. The smell of sulphur hung in the air, giving them away. He closed his eyes and sought for Jennifer's path, which had suddenly become very erratic and difficult to comprehend. The paths of unstable people were always hard to read.

He sought instead, the path of the child and smiled. It was steady and long, stretching out before him like a gentle, winding road.

* * *

**Novosibirsk, Russia**

When the plane touched down, Nadia's stomach rolled over and tightened so hard, she felt breathless. Normally Nadia carried an ever present "fuck it" attitude for any and all situations she found herself in, but this one was different. She felt shit scared, and even though the man who traveled with her was very powerful, where they were going it didn't mean squat. Regardless of what he might think, the name Luthor doesn't echo across every valley.

"Cold?" Lionel asked from behind her. They were dressed warmly, but the freezing temperatures of Western Siberia have a way of creeping into your soul.

Nadia pulled her parka closer around her, though it didn't really help. "Let's just get this over with."

As they made their way through Tolmachevo Airport, it became obvious that they were being followed. Already, her in-laws knew that she was back. By the time they reached the front doors, an armed escort ushered them into a waiting limo. They sat silent, side by side with four men in suits sitting in the car with them; all with stern looks on their faces.

Nadia was nervous, but Lionel sat easily, an annoying smirk plastered across his face the entire ride. Dumb shit, she thought. Acting like that where we're going will get him killed.

They boarded a helicopter to reach the compound located deep in the Vasyugan, it's isolation the only thing remarkable about the location. Miles and miles of frozen swampland passed beneath them as they sped closer to the place Nadia had vowed never to return.

One of the suited men sitting opposite Nadia spoke to her in Russian, asking why she had come back. She didn't answer, choosing to save explanations for the only person who really mattered, the family matriarch.

They sat in stony silence, until out of nowhere Lionel chirped out with, "Lovely country."

They all turned to look at him with blank faces. The smirk continued, and Nadia couldn't help but give him a small smile in return. "It's beautiful in July."

The compound was indistinguishable from the rest of the land really, only a few rolling hills which camouflaged the area and prevented it from being seen from the air. Impossible to pin point with coordinates, due to its ability to change locations the compound was truly a fortress of the modern age.

After landing, the pair was ushered to a set of adjoining suites to stay in. With time so much of the essence, they did not waste any getting comfortable.

"I need to see Amalia right away," Nadia told one of the guards who'd escorted them to their rooms.

"Yes, of course," he said in a thick Russian accent. "She is expecting you."

"How did she know I was coming?" _Stupid question._

"She has her ways, as you well know."

He smiled then, an amused grin as she gazed at his face in confusion. Not about Amalia's gifts, of those she was well acquainted, but about the person who stood before her. He seemed suddenly familiar to her.

"Do I know you?"

He laughed. "It has been a while since I last pestered you for candy. I am Pasha, your husband's youngest nephew."

There. She should have known that, especially considering her husband had insisted on naming their son after this young man.

"You were my hus-" her voice cracked. "his favorite nephew. Our son bore your name, did you know that?"

He beamed with pride for a moment, and then slipped into icy stoicism at the mention of the dead. They still thought of Pasha and his father as belonging to them, not her. She had always been an outsider.

"Follow me," he said curtly, turning into the long hallway. Time had not been so great to the compound since she'd last been there. Many panels outside of electronic doors looked to be in disrepair, and many of the lights flickered in dizzying patterns above them. The floors were clean but dingy, walls cracked and bulged, and in every corner was an ever-present pool of water, as if the swamp had finally taken hold of the place, ready to claim it once and for all.

The people that they saw while passing gave them suspicious looks, their eyes watching for any sign of danger. These were not her relatives, but rather the community of outsiders that they watched out for. Poor souls with no one else to turn to, ignorant about their gifts or why they had them. Most were unrefined and would never learn to truly utilize their power, but could still be useful from time to time. Nadia understood this all too well.

They entered a large chamber, which looked like an old-fashioned throne room, and indeed there sat Amalia at its center, like a great Queen being visited by her subjects. Her darkened skin was wrinkled and drawn back, revealing the advanced age she'd always attempted to hide. But the eyes were the same- black eyes shining like daggers, dangerous and alert.

"So you've lost a child again, Nadia." She said this as fact, rather than a question.

"My granddaughter has been kidnapped," Lionel corrected.

Amalia didn't acknowledge that he spoke at all. Sharp eyes stayed locked onto Nadia, her face unreadable. Without speaking, Nadia heard the old woman's voice loud and clear in her head.

"_But I'm surprised to see you here, Nadia. All these years, and you wait until now to visit?"_

Speaking to her in her mind, Nadia answered,_ "I've come here because I need help." _

"_And you thought that I would help you?"_

"_A woman has taken Katherine Luthor. A woman with the gift of teleportation, and a man with an advanced tracking gift has been dispatched to find her."_

"_Then you don't need me at all, do you?"_

"_Both are very dangerous, and…"_

"_Yes, yes but WHY have you come to me?" _Amalia leaned forward in her chair, her fierce eyes looking through Nadia's very soul.

"_You can control them."_

"_Ah,"_ the old woman sat back again, a content expression on her face. _"But I don't have so much control, do I? I couldn't stop my son from leaving our little home, could I? Couldn't keep him from running away with the little serving girl. The little whore who poisoned his mind."_

Nadia stayed silent, knowing that now was not the time to challenge these accusations. Lionel shifted uncomfortably at her side, not aware of the mental battle being waged between the two women.

"_If my son and grandson had stayed here like I asked, and not attempted to return to you, they would both still be alive."_

"_Yuri loved me,"_ Nadia answered simply. _"I belonged to him and he wasn't just going to leave me."_

At that, Amalia's face darkened even more, and both couldn't help but remember the past.

Nadia had been only a child when first brought to the compound by her mother. "Please take," her poor Turkish mother had said. "I don't know what to do with her." So Nadia had gone to live in the community where life was only slightly less difficult that it would have been on the street. She had never seen her mother again, though later learned that she'd returned to Kilis and died at the age of 31 in a fire.

For her part, Nadia did well in the compound. She helped with washing and cooking and when that didn't pay enough, she sold her body as well. It didn't bother her really. All she had to do was close her eyes and pretend that it wasn't happening.

Attracting men had never been difficult, even as a young child they seemed to swarm around her. They fought and even killed occasionally to be the one able to sit beside her. It was this problem that had driven her mother to seek Nadia's asylum at the compound. Still a young woman herself, she simply couldn't deal with the competition.

It didn't take long after offering these services, that Nadia caught the eye of the prestigious Yuri, his dark hair and blue eyes seeming angelic to her young mind. He was in his mid-thirties, though still unmarried due to the unusual demands placed on him by his mother's army of associates. Gifted with the power to draw and project forms of energy, Yuri was highly prized among the group, and sat at his mother's right hand of power.

Seeing the beautiful young girl, then only 13, treated as a common whore saddened Yuri, and he took her into his apartment, putting her to work as a personal servant. He was kind, and taught her to read and write her own name, a skill, which delighted and fascinated her. Yuri's personal life flourished at this time. His wealth grew substantially, and with it the compound also benefited. It seemed that he now had the ability to think clearly, and to make the most of his ideas and plans.

It didn't take long for his mother, Amalia to realize that it was Nadia herself that did this. It seemed she was a muse of sorts, able to inspire and influence. Such a talent was obviously being wasted at her son's side, and Amalia brought the child in to work with her. With her help, they were able to transform, literally overnight, many poor peasants with rudimentary gifts into full-fledged super-powered beings. Some of these went on to become valued associates, but others did not do so well. They became violent, and had to be put down like ill-tempered dogs.

Yuri disapproved of making the poor child responsible for so much death, and on one summer evening had a fight with his mother over it. She accused him of falling in love with the girl, and Yuri couldn't deny it. Amalia threatened to send her away, but in the dead of night, Yuri took Nadia's hand and together they fled the compound. Four years later, they were married, and only three years after that Nadia was widowed and childless.

And now she was back in the compound awaiting judgment. Amalia glanced over at Lionel for the first time, and spoke to him directly.

"What exactly do you ask of me?"

"I'm aware that your legion of colleagues posses powers similar to those who have kidnapped my granddaughter. It's possible they are the only ones who can end all of this before someone gets hurt. Before Katherine gets hurt."

"And what is the reason I should help you? Bringing this girl here does not help your cause. I might well turn you away because of her."

Lionel nodded slowly, and glanced pointedly around the room. "I noticed that your operation could use some extra funding."

Amalia peered down at him shrewdly. "Yes, even with my…" she paused over the word… "associates, things for us have not gone smoothly ever since my son left Russia. It seems we've had our fair share of bad luck since then." She flit her eyes over at Nadia, who struggled not to roll her eyes or relay her thoughts.

"If you help my granddaughter, you will be well compensated," he promised.

Amalia descended her mock throne and stepped before Lionel, a cunning smile splitting her lips for the first time. "Well then Mr. Luthor, let me introduce you to my army."

* * *

Lana had been pulled from the chamber unconscious. The pain of her transformation was simply too much for her mind to bear, and it shut off like an overloaded breaker box. She awoke to see strange eyes peering down at her.

"Are you okay?" the stranger said. His expression was tender, and he held her in his arms carefully, his one free hand at her face soothing her burning skin. For an instant, her body revolted against his touch, making his brows crease in concern. But then remembering who he really was, she relaxed again in his grip.

"I'll live," she finally answered, and lifted herself up into a sitting position. Her entire body ached, and her skin felt tight, as if it would crack open and bleed out at any time. Lex helped her to stand, and together they made their way over to a chair. She grimaced as she sat, gripping Lex's jacket for support.

Lex sighed. "We shouldn't have done this. You should have stayed home. Maybe there was another way…"

Lana shook her head, and gave her husband a hard look. "It's too late to rethink everything now. It's done. We continue with the plan and finish this."

Lex nodded, and dropped a gentle kiss to her hand before walking out of the room. He took his gun back from the bodyguard who held it for him, and entered the small holding cell that the NSA analysts had been taken to. They looked up at him in confusion, they bodies still ravaged by the tranquilizers they'd been shot with before.

"My God," whispered the man, as he realized that Lex carried his face.

The eyes he peered into were not kind or considerate. They were hard and unfeeling, like those of a man who were truly capable of anything. If he'd been able to look further, he would have seen that they weren't unfeeling at all. Rather, these eyes had everything to lose. They were the windows into the blackened soul of a man who'd gotten everything he'd ever wanted, only to have it ripped away from him in a cruel conspiracy of secrets.

Whoever it was behind it all would pay, of that he was certain. Lex Luthor had not become complacent in his happiness. Inside of him always lived the beast, who waited, who seethed and twisted in his gut demanding release.

The analyst watched himself, his pathetic, terrified reflection in Lex's borrowed eye, and when Lex raised his gun at his forehead, the poor man didn't breathe or blink. When the shot came, he didn't feel it at all really. He felt his body go slack and begin to fall backwards, warm blood trickling out of the bullet hole.

The woman at his side screamed and screamed, but the sound was far away and sounded to him strangely like a train whistle. He wanted to think of his wife and children, but couldn't tear his rapidly fading gaze away from those eyes. They didn't blink either, and were not moved by this desperate act. How strange, the man thought as he hit the ground below him. His life did not flash before him. He did not think of happy times. All he could see, all there was in the world were fixed, slightly dilated and black.

Madness. Madness…


End file.
